Hexadecimal
by okapis
Summary: A collection of colorful oneshots and drabbles involving the Titans. Takes place after Trouble in Tokyo. Any pairings will be RobStar, BBRae, or KFJinx. But mostly BBRae.
1. Pink and Tiny

I don't own Teen Titans. I would love to buy it if you have it for sale, though.

----

"Why am I doing this? I don't do laundry, I can't even reach the dials on the stupid machine."

Beast Boy was standing in the middle of the hall staring at a large basket of clothing, all of which belonged to Starfire. The basket was probably big enough so that he could climb inside and create an awesome fort, he decided. Maybe that would get him moving. Empty the basket, and he would have the most amazing fort ever. He straightened himself up and glanced around before wrapping his arms around the basket. With a deep breath and a heave, he picked it up and headed for the elevator. He couldn't figure out why the laundry room had to be on the tower's ground floor, considering everyone's rooms were on the fifth floor. He slowly trudged onward, and didn't even falter when Silkie emerged from the clothing and leapt dramatically to the floor. The elevator doors suddenly loomed before him, and he didn't want to put the basket down to press the button for fear of never being able to pick it back up. He looked around and wondered where everyone was. How was he supposed to do this by himself?

"Stupid laundry. Stupid elevator," he mumbled quietly.

He rolled his eyes enthusiastically before straining to raise one purple boot. With an almost painful grunt, he kicked the button on the wall and silently cheered when it turned a bright yellow. Now he just had to wait. And wait. And wait…

"Gee, it's not like I'm holding fifty pounds of skirts or anything, oh no. It's not like they're all sweaty and gross and smell like a giant silk worm. That would make this a whole lot harder, good thing it isn't what I'm doing."

He furrowed his brow in frustration. This was stupid. Laundry day was stupid. The elevator was there. The elevator was there. It was there?

Beast Boy struggled a little before finally making his way through the elevator doors. Before he could make it all the way in, the doors closed tightly around the basket, and crushed his fingers.

"Dammit!"

He began to fight the elevator doors, and he was absolutely sure they were fighting him back.

---

Cyborg whistled happily as he headed toward the elevator. He had just returned from his afternoon patrol, and it was right about time to rustle up some kind of awesome meat-filled meal. The day had been going pretty well for him so far, he had woken up and won another argument with Beast Boy over meat vs. tofu (apparently shoving his fake eggs down the sink counted as winning), then he had played the Gamestation for four solid hours while Robin tried to teach Starfire that cooking brownies does not, in fact, involve copious amounts of poppy seeds, and then he had two quiet hours to work by himself in his garage, he had a revitalizing lunch break, and then headed out for a quick and smooth patrol where nothing had been out of place and there was no mischief to be made. Today was a fine dandy day, if he did say so himself.

Behind him was Robin, who was carrying four bags of groceries. "Somebody has to do it," he'd said.

Cyborg pressed the button beside the elevator door and kept on whistling. Robin stood quietly beside him.

"So, Cyborg…how's it going?"

"Pretty good, man, pretty good…" he trailed off.

They both continued waiting patiently. Robin struggled to pull back his glove and peek at his watch from behind the bags of food.

"Man, what's up with this? It's never taken this long before, has it?"

Robin looked a bit confused. "I don't know, maybe something's wrong with it? You pressed the button all the way, right? Sometimes it does that thing where…"

"Nah, I pressed it pretty good. What do think is taking so long?"

Suddenly there was a loud crash followed by chalk board scraping, which was followed by total silence. Robin raised his mask at Cyborg, who shrugged back. There was a quiet "ding", and the doors opened. Inside was a very disgruntled Beast Boy straining to hold a humongous laundry basket. Behind him, the walls were dented and claw marks had shredded the soft blue carpeting. Neither Cyborg or Robin said anything as he struggled to remove himself from the elevator, preferably before the doors tried to eat him again. He did not prevail, and the doors shut on him once more. He let out a growl and morphed himself into a gorilla, using his giant palms to force the doors apart. Finally, he made it out, laundry basket in tow.

"Why didn't I just do that in the first place…" he said to himself.

Cyborg just stared at the wrecked elevator, fearing a lengthy repair time. Robin, eyes wide beneath his mask, basically pinned Beast Boy to the wall with a blank stare.

"It's my turn to do laundry."

"Ooooh."

All was made clear to them. Everyone (the guys) hated and rued the day when the time would come for their turn to do the laundry. From struggling to get all four laundry baskets down the stairs, to actually having to do the laundry of the female members of the team, all was pure terror.

"Maybe we should help you," Robin said. He put his bags of groceries down.

"I might as well pitch in too. Seeing as how I never do it anyway." Cyborg didn't have to take a turn doing the laundry, on the grounds that he had no laundry himself. They figured it wouldn't be fair to him.

"Thanks you guys, this really sucks."

Cyborg grasped the rim of the basket and lifted it with one hand, nearly pulling Beast Boy up with it. He let go and dropped to the ground with a sigh of relief.

"Dude, I think I pulled my funny bone."

The three of them waited quietly.

"Oh, okay, well if Raven were here, she'd say 'Dude, you never even had a funny bone', except without the 'dude' part. Is it weird that we all expect that kind of thing now…?"

"Nah."

Robin and Beast Boy followed Cyborg quietly down the hallway.

---

The laundry room was dark, dank, and smelled pretty terrible. The boys had opened the door (which always jammed) and treaded lightly down the wooden steps for fear of breaking them. Every creek was yet another terrifying second where you didn't know whether or not you would make it to the washing machine without breaking something in the process. They finally touched down on the cold cement floor, all letting out breaths they knew they had been holding. Already sitting in front of the washer were three much smaller baskets of laundry in varying colors. Beast Boy had always wondered why the Tamaranian girl needed so many outfits, while he, Robin, and Raven only needed enough for the week. It just didn't make any sense how she could go through more than three pairs of clothes in a single day, but nobody had gotten around to questioning her.

"Hey Cy? Why is the laundry room so awful looking anyway? You did the plans, why is the rest of the tower so awesome? This place is pretty dull."

"It was an afterthought. What? I don't ever worry about clothes, a laundry room was not on my list of things to do."

Cyborg and Robin began sorting the laundry into two other baskets, one for lights and one for darks. Beast Boy just wanted to sit down and rest his tired legs, but he instead decided to finish his job. Laundry day was no laughing matter, and he had no intention of turning it into one. Sorting the clothes was not that difficult; they all wore dark outfits with the exception of Starfire, but they sorted her clothes anyway. Not a word passed between them when they sorted the unmentionables. Obviously if both Raven and Starfire trusted them enough to do their laundry, then they were going to have to be mature about it and suck it up. Besides, they owed that much to the girls for suffering through clothes that Beast Boy just seems to find around his room, most of which have been sitting where they were for a undetermined amount of time.

They finished, and Beast Boy shoved all of the darker clothes into the washing machine. He then stopped and looked at Cyborg, obviously expecting something. He made an 'I'm waiting' gesture with his hands. Cyborg looked clueless for a moment before realizing.

"Oh, man, you can't even reach the dials! How do you do this when we aren't here?" He reached over and set the machine before turning it on, the drone of the washer starting it's cycle filling the air.

"It takes me a really long time."

"Oh."

The watched the washer spin the clothes for what seemed like minutes before Robin spoke up.

"Um, hey guys? I think we missed something." He pointed to the floor slowly.

There on the ground were the brightest, pinkest, most obnoxious pair of tiny underwear any of them had ever seen. Splashed across the front of them was a light pink unicorn, obviously in a majestic rearing position. This was unlike anything any of them had ever seen before, and they weren't really sure what to do.

"Should we…pick them up?" Beast Boy held his hands to his chest in a frightened manner.

"I don't know, man, they look pretty messed up. Maybe we can just shove them under the washer."

Robin was wide-masked and thinking fast. "I don't think the question is 'what do we do with them'. I think what we really should be asking is, who do they belong to?"

"Well they can't be Star's, all she wears is purple. We all know that," Cyborg stated.

"Agreed," Robin said calmly. "But then that would mean…"

"No way dude, Raven only has blue underwear. I mean, what? I mean, I know that because I do her laundry, not because-,"

"I highly doubt Raven would have anything like this, ever. But who else could it be?" Cyborg ignored Beast Boy, who was turning a shade of brown in the face.

"Who else could what be?"

"Ahh!" All three of them jumped at the voice, who turned out to be Raven. She floated down from the doorway, not risking the wooden stairs. The boys collected themselves and Raven came to stand before them. She had on a totally deadpan face, which she used to intimidate each of them in turn.

"What brings you here Rae?"

"Raven, Beast Boy, my name is Raven. There was no yelling or fighting or anything while I was reading. I began to worry. And then I found out the elevator was broken."

Beast Boy jumped the gun. "It wasn't me, I swear! I was just, you know, doing the laundry because it's my turn, and, you know, I just wanted to get it over and done with. But then the elevator was being a jerk and it took me half an hour just to get in and then I finally got downstairs, but the elevator still hated me and Robin and Cyborg were there and I was a gorilla. Anyway, we got the laundry and took it down here and we had to walk down the stairs and then we made it and we sorted the laundry and put it in and turned it on and then we thought we were done. But then there were those," He pointed to the unicorn underwear, "and we can't figure out who they belong to because Starfire only wears purple and your underwear are all blue and then there was a voice and we looked and it was you and now you're here and I am talking to you, am I being too loud?"

Raven looked at him incredulously.

"Beast Boy, today was my turn to do the laundry. Remember the day when you slept all day and missed three missions? That was yesterday. That was when you were supposed to do the laundry. But you were sleeping, and we made the mistake of not waking you up. I volunteered to do it today. I guess you missed that memo, huh?"

"I..what? I mean, you took my laundry day for me? I mean, yeah, sure. Thanks Rae. Raven. Yeah." He rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. But there was still a matter at hand.

Robin looked thoughtful for a moment before turning his gaze back to the pink underwear. "And those-,"

"Belong to Jinx. I don't think she would appreciate you staring at her undergarments. Especially since she thought it was me who was going to wash them. And in case you didn't catch that, that was me implying that if you ever tell anyone about them, you will all die."

Cyborg shuffled nervously. "Of course."

"Good. Now Cyborg, you can go fix the elevator, Robin can go put the groceries away before Silkie finds them, and Beast Boy- You can finish doing the laundry. All of it."

Robin and Cyborg were quick to escape. Raven, hands on her hips, watched them sprint up the stairs they would otherwise have tiptoed upon. She turned her gaze back to Beast Boy, who had his eyebrows raised.

"You know, you'd make a great mom."

"That's nice, Garfield. Now do your laundry."

-------------------------------------------

Silly Beast Boy, Raven's underwear aren't for- wait…


	2. Five Shorts

We've established that I don't own it, right? Good.

Let's swing for a few pieces this time.

---

**Birthday**

"Hey Raven, do you know what's terrible?"

Oh boy.

"No, Garfield, what's terrible?" she asked, totally intrigued.

Raven had been doing nothing but quietly reading her book on the couch. Why did he always pick times like this to attack her with questions that meant nothing?

"I missed my birthday."

Her eyes widened. She'd honestly never even thought about that. When had his birthday been?

"When was your birthday?" she voiced her thought.

Beast Boy dropped himself down onto the couch beside her before holding up gloved fingers to do what she thought looked like counting. His lips moved as he recited months and days quietly to himself. Before long, he looked back up at Raven, who had put her book down neatly on her lap.

"I don't know."

"You don't know."

"I mean, I'm pretty sure it was sometime while we were fighting the Brotherhood, but you know, we were sorta gone for a while…" he trailed off, obviously remembering the months they had spent away from home.

"I'm sure that's when it was! I can't believe I never had a fifteenth birthday. Turning fifteen is important! Birthdays are the best! I never even had cake, Raven. No party, no cake, no games, no food! I can't believe I missed my own birthday. The most important days of our lives only happen once a year! Don't you think it sucks I missed it? Raven?"

Somewhere along his speech, she had huddled closer into the arm of the couch and turned her head towards the window. She spoke in a whisper she knew only he would hear.

"I would have given anything to miss my birthday."

She didn't shy away when he quickly wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer.

---

**Elements**

The common populace, for some reason or another, seemed to think that Starfire was less capable than the others. Maybe it was because of the way she spoke or the way she acted. Some folks just seemed to think she was a dumb alien who knew nothing of earth's ways. She would be mocked for even the slightest slip up, from mispronouncing a word to not understanding when and when not to bring shovels.

She knew better than pay heed to the taunts and jibes though.

So did her family. They could see why she was poked and prodded at. They only wished she could have a bigger audience when she dramatically dictated the enormous and detailed history of her people, or when she solved impossible mathematical equations to help Cyborg build a new ship, or when she recited from memory every single country on this planet, and the next.

The other Titans just smile (Raven smirks, she doesn't smile) when she walks down the street mumbling the words to a tune she's made up that involves reciting the names of every single element on the periodic table, plus fifty-two others from her native Tamaran.

Their Starfire is not dumb, and she is not clueless. They only wish the rest of the world could see that.

---

**Spending Time**

Raven sat on the cushioned seat behind the counter in the common room, reading quietly to herself. On rare occasions like this, when she could sit and read and nobody else was around, she felt completely and unquestionably happy. Well, nobody else was around besides _him._ But he was always around. Today, just like every other five or so days, he was lying on the counter in the kitchen directly across from her. She peeked a look at him over the top of her book.

He was smiling, his hands folded behind his head and his eyes closed. Beside him was his portable iPod speaker, where Owl City was absently emanating from. The music didn't bother her. In fact, it made the whole thing that much more quiet. She felt so calm and collected, like there was no way anything could ever alter this familiar moment. She turned back to her book, but her eyes were not moving with the words. Instead, she found herself listening to the music floating in the cool tower air.

When she looked back up from her book, he was watching her, still smiling. Without hesitating, she smiled back at him.

This was without a doubt her favorite way to spend time with Beast Boy.

---

**Race**

It was the race that was always meant to be.

A challenge between the fastest boy alive, and the fastest twins alive. At first, both sides had been reluctant. Kid Flash was an idol to them, and Mas and Menos were like his little brothers. They had never had any reason to see who was faster, it really didn't make a difference as long as they got along and did their duty, right?

In any case, the other Titans had been thrilled with the idea, and had immediately planned an afternoon event, complete with after party. Even Raven was going to be there, and she hated parties. Aqualad had told Kid Flash that it was probably because Beast Boy had threatened to tell everyone that she kept a small stuffed rabbit under her pillow. Of course, Beast Boy had already told everyone, but she didn't need to know that. It probably meant something to her or something.

Kid Flash stood rigid and still at the starting line. Mas and Menos were to his right.

Though they were still reluctant to race, they had each found personal reasons for going through with it.

Mas and Menos had agreed because Jinx had told them she would be waiting at the finish line with _brownies._

Kid Flash had agreed because Jinx had told him _she_ would be waiting at the finish line with brownies.

It was a win-win situation.

---

**Keyboard**

Nobody was surprised when Robin walked into the common room one morning complaining about not being able to move his fingers. They were totally crumpled and arched, and seemed like they were trying to become permanently so.

"Robin? For what reason do your fingers appear…broken?" Starfire's voice was laced with concern.

"They aren't broken, Star. Just… temporarily out of order."

"Ah."

Raven looked up from her novel and sipped her tea. "Why haven't you changed yet? You were wearing that yesterday."

Robin wondered in the back of his head how she knew he hadn't changed. Everything he wore was the same. "…I couldn't turn the tap on in the shower."

"God, this is like the time I couldn't reach that knob on the washing machine." Beast Boy chimed in from beside Raven.

"You can't reach anything," Cyborg quipped from his place in front of the stove.

Beast Boy frowned before glancing at Raven from the corner of his eye. He raised an eyebrow. "I can reach Raven's-"

A hand clamped over his mouth.

"Don't even say it."

"But seriously, I can't do anything. I can't even feel my fingers hurting, and I know they are. How am I supposed to make my breakfast?" Robin continued.

Not a second later and Cyborg had set a plate of Pancakes down on the table, pulling Robin's chair out for him.

"Gee, thanks Cyborg, I'll just sit down and pick up my fork."

"Are there actual eggs in those?"

Robin's mask flattened, implying that he was unimpressed. He sat down in the chair Cyborg had so courteously pulled out for him, and stared at his plate.

"Hey, why did you make him breakfast? What about me?" Beast Boy was dangerously close to whining. Cyborg chucked him an apple at roughly two hundred kilometers an hour, which Raven caught with her powers a few millimeters in front of his face.

"Watch it," she said, "Don't throw your stuff at my stuff."

Beast Boy grinned and Cyborg rolled his eyes. Suddenly, Starfire was beside Robin, who was still glaring bullets at his plate and holding his hands out uselessly.

"You have been up late typing your files, have you not?" she said to him.

"Maybe."

"Hm," she went on, "I will return shortly." And she floated quickly out of the room.

Cyborg sat down beside Robin, across from Raven, and began to dig into his piles of bacon and sausage. Beast Boy cringed and pushed himself into the cushioned seat. Raven kept on reading, sipping at her tea. All was quiet save for the sound of Cyborg enjoying his meal.

"Stop doing that," Raven spoke in monotone.

Robin realized the demand was directed at him. "Stop doing what?"

"You're either going to eat the damn food or you're going to get up and have a shower. Don't just sit there like you don't know what's going on. It's your fault you've probably damaged the nerves in your fingers beyond any possible repair. Stop looking so miserable."

"Yeah, you tell 'im Rae!"

"Garfield will turn the shower on for you."

"What?"

Robin smirked. "You heard her, looks like you have to help me out today. Maybe I was going to clean training room today. Maybe I need help to tidy up the evidence room. Who knows? Why don't you help me find out, Beast Boy?"

Robin's smirk disappeared when Raven's glare moved from Beast Boy to himself. "Oh, no, Garfield is cleaning _my_ room today."

"Aw, what?" Beast Boy was starting to become confused.

"That's what happens when you build your legos on my floor."

"This is animal abuse. First Cyborg cooks unborn baby chickens into a breakfast Fingerboy can't eat, and then you order me around like some pack mule."

"Someone's been paying attention this morning," she remarked snidely. "Go help Robin."

Robin got up and made his leave, an upset Beast Boy trailing behind. Cyborg looked up from his meal.

"You just love doing that, don't you?"

"You bet," she said.

It was then that Starfire popped back in through the door Robin and Beast Boy had just walked out of, looking happy and cheerful as usual. In her hand was a black garbage bag that was making all sorts of interesting click-clack noises. She floated over to the breakfast table, where she took Robin's seat and smiled.

Cyborg raised his single human eyebrow. "Watcha' got in the bag?"

She promptly dumped the contents on the table. Raven choked on her tea.

What poured out on the table was a completely dismantled keyboard that belonged to one Robin, who would surely not find any humor in the loss of his means to type up his files. Starfire was clearly enthralled with herself.

"I believe I have solved Robin's problem, yes? He can no longer complain about the not being able to have a shower because he cannot turn the water on." She blinked. Raven was staring wide eyed at the pieces of plastic that littered the table. Cyborg was unmoving.

"Friends? Have I done something wrong?"

Raven recomposed herself. "No, Starfire. No, everything's fine."

"Splendid." And she collected her pieces back into the bag and retreated through the door joyfully.

"So…" Cyborg started, "You gonna tell him?"

"No. No, I think he's fine just being confused. He needs to stop staying up late anyway."

"Right."

Just then, Beast Boy stumbled in.

"Oh my God, Raven, it's like I just walked into a volcano. He has it like twenty degrees above whatever temperature water boils at. I can't even stand near the bathroom door." Beast Boy's eyes looked like they were watering, and he was probably sweating beneath his uniform. Cyborg snickered.

Raven considered telling him right now that he would have to go back in and turn it off for Robin. But what was one more surprise today anyway?

---

More than an hour later, Robin stormed the tower searching for his missing keyboard. The others had decided to wall themselves up in the laundry room, which was, coincidentally, the only room in the tower with an actual door knob on the door. Therefore, Robin could not open it.

A while later, after Robin had given up and slumped against the door, it opened. He felled backwards as everyone piled out.

"What were you guys doing in there? I must have been yelling through the door for a couple hours," Robin mused.

"We played cards," Beast Boy said.

Cyborg, Starfire and Beast Boy turned the corner, leaving Raven standing in the hall and Robin on the floor.

"And what have we learned?"

"…Don't stay up all night on the computer?"

"Indeed." And with that, she turned the corner and left him.

It was then that he looked at his hands, and realized he was going to have a hell of a time getting back up.

---

I always imagined Beast Boy and Raven sharing something to do with music. And Robin spends so much time on the computer, how could he not get cramps?

Reviews are nice, even just one is good. Thanks much.


	3. Six Pieces

Once you get going, there doesn't seem to be any means of stopping.

I'm just going to write forever, sound good?

Still haven't bought Teen Titans yet. :/

---

**Trek**

It had been a long day for Raven. She'd been out on patrol with Robin since at least ten in the morning, successfully missing both lunch and dinner. Dr. Light had invented some sort of teleportation device powered by his energy suit, but he unfortunately had no apparent control over wherever it was he was warped to, and so had appeared at completely random locations throughout the day. In the end, he had given in, frustrated with not knowing where he was going to be within the next five minutes.

All in all, Raven was rather tired, so when she finally made it back to her room, she simply fell to the surface of her bed without bothering to change out of her mangled uniform. It was very satisfying. She rolled to her side where she could see the top of her bedside table, which caught her eye immediately, most probably because something was, in fact, missing.

What _should_ have been there was the single photo she owned- a photo Beast Boy had taken of himself, framed, and then put in her bedroom for "When I'm not there."

What _was_ there was a Lego model of the U.S.S Enterprise, obviously belonging to Beast Boy. Raven sighed in frustration and flipped open her communicator.

"Beast Boy here- Oh, hey Raven. 'Sup?"

"Where is it?" she demanded.

"Raven, I do a lot of stuff with a lot of things. You'll have to be more specific."

"The photo. What did you do with it?"

"Oooh, the photo. Well I'm kinda running out of places to put my stuff. I just moved it," he explained, as if it made all the sense in the world.

"Running out of space? Garfield, you have an entire _room_ to keep your stuff in."

"Pfft, that's not cool."

"Where is it, Garfield?"

He rubbed the back of his neck on the tiny screen. "Okay, okay. I think I put it in one of your drawers. I think. I don't really remember."

Raven huffed. "I am going to have a shower. When I get back, the photo will be back where it belongs, and the Enterprise will be not where it is now. Understand?"

"No problemo, Raven. Beast Boy out."

---

When Raven returned from her shower, the photo was back in it's proper place. When she turned to her left, she was met with the sight of a crudely built shelf that looked like it was made with the bottom of Robin's old keyboard. Atop it sat the Enterprise.

"Garfield _Mark_ Logan!"

He was at her door in a second. She pointed at the wall.

"Well you were only in the shower for like ten minutes! I can't work any faster than that!"

---

**Morning**

It was often that Cyborg would arrive at the kitchen early Sunday morning to find Beast Boy snuggling up to Raven, who was always reading her novel with one hand and scratching behind his ear with the other. Cyborg had never given them a second glance until today.

Beast Boy was smiling his big watermelon grin, sitting cross legged on the cushioned seat. And out from behind him protruded…

…a tail? It just barely touched the floor, and was wagging happily back and forth. Both of them noticed Cyborg stop to stare, and suddenly two pairs of eyes were drilling him.

"_What?_"

---

**Ceiling Cat**

"Beast Boy, what are you doing in the ceiling panels?" Robin was trying to decide if he should be perplexed or afraid.

"Shhh! You don't know I'm up here!"

"Seriously, what are you doing?"

Suddenly, a small furry face emerged from the corner of the panel directly over Robin's head. He meowed rather loudly before turning back into himself.

"Ceiling Cat is watching you!"

Robin decided on being perplexed, and walked swiftly away.

---

**Together**

Today was going along splendidly, Robin thought. Right now, he was reading the newspaper from his perch on the couch, sitting rather comfortably with legs crossed and back slouched. Next to him was a cheerful as always Starfire, who was petting the cooing Silkie in her lap.

On the other side of the semi-circular couch was Cyborg, who was clicking away on the gamestation controller. Sitting on the newest addition to the family of seating arrangements (an armchair) was Raven, who was not reading, but watching Cyborg play his game. Everything was going abnormally wonderful, and it was almost total silence. Robin smiled as he turned the page. Only one thing was keeping this moment from being perfect.

Suddenly, Beast Boy ran in through the sliding doors, panting and terribly out of breath.

"Guys, if you see like a zebra walking around, don't panic. His name is Earl, and he needs somewhere to stay for a while," and he turned around and left without a word.

Raven spoke for all of them. "So _that's_ what was missing."

---

**Secret**

Cyborg hurried out of the elevator in a frenzy. He had left the shopping list on the kitchen counter, and risked leaving Robin, Starfire, and Raven in his baby all alone, with nobody to look out for them. He trampled his way down the hall, eager to retrieve the list and make it back to his car before something terrible happened. He was stopped suddenly by the most enchanting and riveting melody he had ever heard in his life.

It was a proud and lonely, almost despair-filled sound that emanated from somewhere down the hall. It was smooth and haunting, and it distracted him completely. Forgetting about the list, he turned to his left and tiptoed down the hall for fear of overriding the sweet song he was entirely focused on finding the source of. He checked every room on his way, the sound becoming louder and driving him forward. At last, he came to the end of the hall, where there was a room he didn't even know existed. He silently punched in the general entry code, and the door slid open.

There, sitting with perfect posture atop a round topped stool, was Beast Boy, moving his arm dramatically to extract notes from the mahogany violin. Cyborg could do nothing but watch as the green boy continued playing, the music weaving together a tale of epic proportions that would rivet anyone to wherever it was they were standing.

Beast Boy finished his piece without faltering, and his gaze drifted to the door. That was when he noticed Cyborg.

"Ahh! Cy! I mean, I- you know I didn't- I mean… I thought you went shopping?!" he stuttered, his face the very picture of panic.

Cyborg didn't move from his position in the door frame.

"That," he started, almost a whisper, "was _beautiful._"

---

**Hidden**

"Friend Beast Boy?"

"What's up, Star?" he replied from where he was slumped on the couch.

"Please, do you think you could answer a question for me? I have asked the others, but they do not know the answer!"

"Well, if Raven didn't know, then I probably won't know."

"Please?" she stressed the 'P' as hard as she could.

"Uh, okay, shoot."

"For what reason does Robin not remove his mask?"

"What? That's easy," Beast Boy stated.

"Oh, how wonderful! What is the answer?"

"Well," he turned to her, "It's obviously for the same reason I never take off my gloves."

---

Writing these little bits is so much fun.

Anyway, I think I've read a total of three fanfictions in which Beast Boy has a tail. I rather like the idea.

My Beast Boy also plays the violin, as decided by Raven, who can probably play everything. And in case you haven't noticed yet, Cyborg is not paired with anyone. I personally don't think he needs to be, he does just fine on his own. It wouldn't make him any less awesome, it just doesn't swing right with me.

Robin is _so much fun_ to write, you have no idea. And Starfire is the hardest. I guess I need to brush up a bit…

Thank you for your reviews, each one will be replied to if it involves more than "this iz gud rite more plz". Feel free to ask questions.


	4. Moving Forward

Still don't own the Titans. Life just bums you out sometimes, you know?

**Note from me: I'd really love it if this got a couple more reviews, as it's had well over 300 views, and only a few of you have actually up and said anything. It just makes me feel all warm inside, and that's a good thing. I'm open for flames and crits as well, anything to help me improve. This is really the first thing I've written, and I'd like to know how I'm doing. Thank ye.**

**Now, on with the show, yes? **

---

**Floor Monster**

The last thing Robin expected to see when he walked into the common room that morning was a bundle of blankets rolling around on the floor. He could only describe it as some sort of human shaped cocoon, and it was making very displeased noises as it tumbled back and forth, periodically hitting the side of the couch. Well, considering the things that happened to them every day, it wasn't _that_ unexpected. And yet, there was still no clear explanation as to what it actually was. Cautiously, Robin made his way over toward the couch, where he paused beside the now still mass of fabric. He decided he should be incredibly careful and aware, in case the thing induced any sort of immediate danger. He raised his slippered foot carefully…

And kicked it as hard as he could.

"Ouch! Dude what was that for!?"

Oh. Of course.

"Beast Boy, what are you doing wrapped up in a blanket? On the floor?" Robin asked, clearly unamused.

"Hey, it's not just me. Raven's in here too," he said, finding an opening and shoving his head out. Sure enough, Raven's head and arms appeared next to Beast Boy's, and she tried to drag herself out of the tangle of blanket. Robin's eyes were wide, and he almost made to help her, but Beast Boy grabbed her around the waist calmly and dragged her back down.

"Help me," she said.

"No Robin, you can't! I'm a floor monster! I caught Raven, and now she can't get out," Beast Boy explained, clearly upset that Robin had interrupted his game.

"Ugh," Raven groaned from the floor.

"Beast Boy, I think you should let her go. Uh… and then maybe run."

"No! That's not how it works!"

Raven once again tried to drag herself out from within the cushiony folds, only to be halted once more by a clingy Beast Boy. He then flipped them over, and wrapped the blanket more tightly around both of them. He grinned triumphantly up at Robin.

"Let's see you try and save her now!" and he let out a lion's roar, obviously enjoying his game once more. Robin wasn't interested.

"You know what? I'm going to go and make my coffee, and pretend like this never happened."

Raven glared at him, and a thin grey hand emerged from near her neck. She held it out to him, almost daring him to challenge Beast Boy for her possession. Robin just looked at her hand and did nothing, his lips turning up in a smirk. She promptly flipped him the bird, and told him to go make his coffee.

Cyborg walked in five minutes later, and sat down beside Robin, who was tentatively sipping at his mug and flipping the pages of the morning paper. He was about to ask how Robin's morning was going so far, but stopped when he spotted the blanket cocoon, which was once again wrapped up and rolling around on the floor.

"What the-,"

"Beast Boy is a floor monster. He caught Raven," Robin interrupted, sipping again at his black coffee.

"Oh."

Silence.

"Why hasn't she gotten out yet?"

"Beast Boy just drags her back in."

"Oh."

Another lapse of silence.

"Hey Rob? Couldn't she just phase through the blanket?" Cyborg asked.

Robin looked up and stared Cyborg in the eye, as they both came to that realization.

"So," started Cyborg, "how much you wanna bet they're makin' out in there?"

---

**Airport**

It's one thirty in the morning, and the Titans are waiting for their flight to Hong Kong from the Vancouver airport. They've been hopping planes all day trying to make it to Asia, and it's been silently agreed that nobody is ever going to let Beast Boy suggest they travel like your average travelling folk ever again. It's hard going, takes a long time, and is a pain in the ass to plan.

Not even twenty minutes after arriving, Beast Boy had launched himself onto the conveyer he dubbed 'the flat escalator', and started walking in the opposite direction, effectively getting nowhere. He walked casually, as if he didn't look like an idiot, and was thankful that the gates were so empty at nights. Raven walking by with a cup of Starbucks distracted him, and he tripped and fell rather unceremoniously onto the moving walkway, and barely escaped before his hair became caught.

It was almost a chore to get Beast Boy to actually follow them to the new gate. He clearly loved being in the airport, he ran around looking at the totems and the carvings in the display cases, and he pressed his forehead to the windows when he saw the planes taxiing and taking off in the darkness outside. Cyborg had already stopped him walking into an 'employees only' door twice.

They had finally made it to the new gate, where they would wait for the 2:00 AM flight to Hong Kong.

Now, Cyborg was at the gate's front desk (getting through security had been _hell_) trying to bump them up to first class. He chatted quietly with the women at the computer, as if he wasn't meant to break the delicate silence. There was nobody else around.

Robin was seated on a soft bench and dressed in his usual winter apparel- a red knit sweater and warm jeans. Snuggled up next to him was Starfire, also dressed in something woolen with her feet folded beneath her. She was completely absorbed in the games she was playing on Raven's laptop, occasionally making small squeals of delight.

Across from them in another row of seats sat the aforementioned dark girl, self assigned to guarding the small pile of carry-on suitcases beside her. She was wearing her favorite dark grey turtle neck and was sipping at her cup of what was probably tea, and reading a copy of '_The Wild Things'_.

And Beast Boy stood, a grin plastered to his happy face, watching them all. He pulled lightly at his purple sweater. Raven looked up over her book, and Robin moved a little to accommodate a shifting Starfire, who had almost dropped the laptop.

"What are you doing?" Raven asked Beast Boy, her voice low and pleasent.

"Nothing," he answered. Before she could say anything more, he sat beside her and stole her cup, taking a big swig of the hot beverage.

"I just _really_ like travelling."

---

**Holiday**

The Titans had all been gathered around the TV late at night, relaxing and watching nothing interesting when suddenly Starfire had jumped up, flinging Silky to the floor and almost decapitating Robin.

"Friends! We must start the preparations for the coming of the Christ Mas!"

They looked at her as if she'd just chugged a cup of mustard… which was totally normal. It wasn't surprising for her to burst out in this sort of manner.

"Star," said Raven, "Christmas is two months away. We've barely finished Halloween."

And what an ordeal _that_ had been.

"But friend Raven, the commercials have already begun! Should we not begin our preparations too, so as to not be caught last minute?"

Cyborg shook his head, "The commercials start earlier every year. We don't need to keep up with them."

"He's right Star, it's still too early to be thinking about Christmas decorations," Robin said.

The silence afterword indicated that they were waiting for Beast Boy's input, but they were urged forward alone after Raven lifted up the blanket to reveal a green cat curled up in her lap who was very much asleep.

"Why don't you write down things you see on TV so we don't forget to buy them later?" Robin suggested.

Starfire looked put down. "I thought it would have been much fun for us all to travel to the mall of shopping together. Do you not think the picking of the decorations would be of great enjoyment, Robin?"

"It's not that, it's just…," he looked to Cyborg, expecting further support. Cyborg gave him a look that said 'nuh-uh, she's all yours' and then turned back to the glowing TV.

"Look, Starfire, I just don't-,"

"Please, Robin?"

Robin's face softened under Starfire's gaze, and he looked for a moment as though he were considering it.

"Well, maybe-,"

"Robin will go with you, Starfire," Raven cut in. "I'm sure he'd love to help you do some early Christmas shopping."

"Oh, that is most glorious! I shall go and sleep now, as to not be tired on the morning!" and she pranced off happily, clutching her arms to her chest in an always unrivaled glee. Silky tried to follow her, but was not quick enough, and became stuck in the pressurized door.

Robin's mask flat lined as he glared at Raven. Cyborg decided then to make his leave, but not before grabbing a sandwich on his way out.

"I hate you," said Robin.

"What? Too embarrassed to go Christmas shopping with your girlfriend?" she droned.

"You know how I am when we go to the mall. I'm grumpy and paranoid and I hate crowds. How could you subject me to such torture?"

"You'd end up doing it eventually. And incase you didn't notice, the rest of us don't want to go either."

"So that makes it okay for you to volunteer me?"

"You're the leader."

"So what?"

"So there."

Raven and her stupid argumentation skills. Robin said nothing for a while. After a moment of consideration, he suddenly came up with a rather brilliant plan that was sure to irk Raven as much as it did him.

"I'm going to buy mistletoe for Beast Boy," he told her.

"Okay," she replied, not caring in the least.

"It doesn't bother you?"

"You're the one who never kisses and tells. Beast Boy acts as if there's mistletoe everywhere, all of the time. I'm quite sure it doesn't bother me anymore."

They were interrupted when Starfire's voice suddenly rang out from the hallway. "Robin! We must not forget the mistle of the toe! Do please remind me to retrieve someone when we are out tomorrow!" she wailed, still squealing excitedly.

If possible, Robin's mask became even flatter.

"I _hate_ you."

---

**Future**

As he stands atop the ruined and crumbling T, Cyborg can't help but look back on happier times. He remembered when they were all a team, and when they went out for pizza, and when they all fell asleep together on the common room couch…

_Oh, how things had changed…_

Gone were the glory days of being a loved and appreciated super, blown away by the growing designs of war and unfaithfulness. They had left along with his life, leaving nothing but an uneasy certainty of the things to come. Cyborg wished, with all of his might, that everything could just rewind and rewind and rewind, and they could go back to a time when the sky wasn't red and he was surrounded by his allies, and where he wasn't standing by himself at the end of the world.

But he knew, wishes were never answered, and prayers were never heard.

His gears creek and crack as he struggles to keep moving forward, preparing to face his final battle, his ultimate demise. And the only thing he can think about is that he's going in alone. And then he can see her, flooding the streets with darkness and painting the crumbled remains of the city blood red. Just like that a Red-cloaked Raven is at the tower, all four eyes glowing a brilliant red, and he knows he isn't just facing Raven, he's facing a fully realized avatar of death. The image of a red bird emerges from her cloak, rising menacingly over the tower and blocking his view of the desolate city. Above them, he spies a green hawk. But he doesn't call to him for help, because the hawk was the first to turn, the first to give himself up to her. She's smiling now, jagged teeth glaring at him, and she's almost laughing.

And Cyborg knows what's going to happen, and he know how it's all going to end.

But he knows it's just him. And he's totally, unresolvably… _alone_.

---

**Road Trip**

It took two days by car to get to Gotham city. Sure it was long, and boring, but Robin persisted that it would be a great bonding experience for them all. Bonding this, bonding that, Robin was simply stuck in a bonding rut. It hadn't been bothersome at first, only Raven had been irked by the thought of spending her valuable time with more than one person at any given moment- but it had eventually worked it's way under everyone's skin, including Starfire. The alien princess hadn't felt like hugging anyone for days, because they'd all been around each other all the time thanks to Robin's incredible activity arranging skills. They agreed that after the trip to Gotham, they'd all opt for some much needed alone time. Quite possibly on different continents. Yes, it was _that bad_.

Beast Boy was sort of excited for the road trip, only because he had never been on one before. He wasn't happy, however, to find himself sitting in the back of the T-car squished up against the seat with Robin and Starfire on either side of him. _Raven was sitting in the front._ And that was stupid, Beast Boy decided.

None of them had said a word most of the way, all was silent save for the quiet arguing between Cyborg and Raven over which exit to take. By now, the sky was turning black, and they were all getting very tired. Robin had suggested they just stay in the car all the way there since Cyborg needed no sleep, but his idea was quickly put down in favor of finding some beds for the night. This led them to a quiet and quaint hotel, where it was Robin's job to get rooms for the night. The others lounged on the lobby chairs, tired and utterly bored.

"I still don't know why we're doing this," Raven droned, "we already live in the same house."

"If you ask me, Robin's gettin' a little nuts with this 'spending time together' thing," Beast Boy emphasized his words incorrectly using three finger quotations.

"Let's just go along with this. I'm sure he'll calm down about it, it's been weeks since he started us on this crap," added Cyborg.

Starfire yawned. "I do believe that Robin has very good intentions, but I must agree with you that I am getting tired of the always being around everyone."

Just then, Robin returned, an oblivious grin stuck to his face with two dimple tacks.

"I got us a room!" he announced.

"_A_ room. You got us _a_ room," Raven stated.

"I figured it'd give us a better sense of togetherness if we all just shared a room. Don't worry, there's two beds."

Beast Boy rubbed at the bags under his eyes. "Dude, there's like five of us. I don't think we're all going to fit, and I'm not sharing with Cy."

Robin didn't see a problem. "You can just sleep as a cat on the foot of the bed."

"And let Cy sleep in Raven's bed? Not a chance," he growled.

"No, no," Robin waved his hands in front of himself, clearly in defense, "that isn't what I meant."

"Well I doubt _you're_ going to share with Cyborg," Raven added, obviously starting to lose her patience.

Robin looked perplexed as he tried to sort it out in his head. He came to the realization quite quickly that he hadn't thought it out very well, and immediately tried to put forth an explanation. He stuttered for a good few minutes, trying to verbally solve the problem while under the scrutinizing gaze of his friends.

"You know," said Cyborg, "I think I'll just sit on the floor."

- - -

The room was rather small, but comfy, and had only two beds. Suitcases and duffle bags were tossed in an unholy pile as they all leapt into the beds, leaving poor Robin standing in the doorway. Well, Cyborg sat down on the floor, not bothered by a lack of blankets. They weren't concerned with changing, they were all just too tired to worry about such trivial things. Robin was quick to ruin any hopes of sweet dreams.

"We should play a game."

"No," came their reply.

"Come on, guys! This is a great chance to really get to know each other. We have all night!"

"Okay Robin," said Beast Boy, who had not been in the mood for joking around at all that day, "you can stay awake all night, and the rest of us are going to sleep like civilized and sensible people." He crawled swiftly under the blanket next to a disgruntled Raven and pulled the covers solidly over his head.

"Robin, we are all very tired. Perhaps it is time for you to give the bonding time a break?" Starfire sad carefully, her voice tired and weary.

Robin looked defeated, but nodded slowly before making his way over to lie down beside Starfire. Raven turned the light switch off with a flick of her wrist and spark of dark energy, and for the first time in weeks, they felt like Robin was finally understanding how truly unhappy they were with the situation.

"Hey guys? Do you want to talk about anything before we go to sleep? Y'know, just get some stuff out there?"

"No," they said, eerily synchronized. When the silence came back, they wallowed in it.

"We could-,"

"No, Robin. You know what?" Beast Boy rose from under the covers and crawled swiftly over Raven and off the bed, coming to stand before Robin. His eyes were glowing softly in the dark, but they held a sort of menacing air about them.

"Okay, dude, I love 'spending time' with everyone just as much as the next guy. Heck, I just won't leave anyone alone. But you know what? This trip- this whole bonding thing- is making me, _me _of all people, want to crawl into a corner and _shoot myself_ so I don't ever have to see any of you ever again. I used to have a personal bubble, Robin. Hard to believe, but I did. You didn't just pop it, you _burst_ it, you didn't even wipe up the soap that was left. This trip sucks, and you suck. When we get back from our little adventure, you're going to not talk to anyone for a whole _week_ and you're going to leave us all alone and stop bonding. I swear to _Azar_, Robin, _AZAR, _that I will beat the shit out of you if you so much as jiggle the handle on my door."

Beast Boy was seething, and the others were wide eyed in the dark.

Robin spoke quietly, "Our doors don't have handl-,"

"No."

"But-,"

"No."

"I-,"

"_No._"

Robin finally took the hint and shut up. Beast Boy rounded his bed and climbed in, violently burying himself under the covers.

"He get's angry when he's tired," Raven explained. And that was the last thing anyone said for the whole night.

---

In the morning, Robin was less than surprised to find himself riding in the trunk with the bags. He supposed he deserved it though, after what he'd been doing. It was going to be hard to get out of his funk. He was going to have to find something else to immerse himself in. After all, it wasn't his fault he needed something other than villains to obsess over. Maybe obsessing over his friends wasn't a great alternative.

"I should start collecting stamps," he said to himself. And what better way to collect stamps then to adjust the 'no fan-mail' rule?

On second thought, maybe that wasn't such a great idea either.

---

**GOSH that was a long chapter. Sometimes you just gotta keep going. Anyways, the Floor Monster thing is derived from a game I used to play as a kid when I went to sleep over parties. Except without the makin' out part. I was reminded of it when I read about it in a chapter of **_**Whitewater**_**. **

**The airport section is directly related to my obscene amount of time spent traveling and at the airport in general. Why Vancouver? It's where I work, and is most often where I write. I'd have to say that waiting for your plane to come in at the gate with friends, really late at night, is one of my favorite things to do. And yes, there really is a two AM flight to Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific.**

**Road trip is my least favorite here, but I had the whole room scene in my head and it needed to be on paper. The computer. Whatever.**

**Until next time,**

**Feathers**


	5. A Little Bit Crazy

**Author's note:**

**Chapter four was revised, correcting (hopefully) any mistakes I made. Thank you Gummi, for helping me out with that. As of now I have no beta reader, so I just read it four or five times to try and catch mistakes myself. I encourage you to contact me if I make a blatantly obvious mistake involving anything, so I can go back and correct it. I type these at work, so my computer sometimes auto-corrects things in a funny way. Anyways, let's continue on and suffer through the horrible masses of Beast Boy and Raven that seems to just happen everywhere, shall we?**

---

**Reese Cups and Windows**

Raven narrowly avoided a flying mix of chocolate and peanut butter as she entered the common room. It was immediately apparent who had thrown it, and she had no problem locating-

"Hey, Raven!"

This was going to be an exciting evening.

"Look at this!" Beast Boy shouted from behind the couch. Cyborg popped up behind him and gestured for her to come over to them. She complied warily, treading lightly around the small blobs of chocolaty peanut butter goodness that decorated the floor.

"Look," Beast Boy told her as she stepped in front of the couch. She followed his gaze to the makeshift catapult he had made from some scraps from the garage, and what looked like one of Robin's extra masks. Beside it was a pile of Reese Cups, at least two feet in height.

"Cyborg helped me build it. Isn't it great?" Beast Boy asked her. Cyborg grinned and nodded excitedly.

Raven looked a little bit like she was confused, which didn't happen often. "I don't get it."

Beast Boy lifted a finger shyly to point at the window behind her. Sure enough, the left window pane of the common room was covered in small and spectacular 'splats' of the sweets, and she could barely see past the mess to the bay below. Her mouth _almost_ dropped.

"Beast Boy," she said.

The green boy shrugged. Cyborg chose that moment to feel a rare bit of pity for Beast Boy, and so he looked Raven in the eye and explained with great depth and clarity exactly what they were doing.

"They make cool splats," he told her.

"Ah."

Then it was a game of nerves, Beast Boy and Cyborg glaring at each other, daring the other to say something that wouldn't piss Raven off. The stare was intense, each competitor totally dropping any knowledge of what was going on around them. Cyborg almost leaned down too far trying to even out the challenge. Then suddenly-

_SPLAT._

They turned to look over Raven's shoulder at the window, where an enormous spreading and speckling of peanut butter had just taken place. Neither knew if they should say anything. Raven put her hands on her hips, not even bothering to turn around.

"Is it cheating if I use my powers to explode the peanut butter?"

---

**Wall Master**

It was dark.

Starfire treaded lightly down the black hallway, using her starbolts to light the way. It cast an eerie green glow along the walls, and she couldn't see the ceiling. She wouldn't deny that she was frightened, she absolutely hated thunder storms. She could usually handle them all night with no problems, but tonight had to be the worst storm she'd ever seen. The wind howled and the rain pounded mercilessly on the walls of the tower, the sound echoing down the many halls and corridors weaving through the building. Starfire had decided that tonight she would have to break her record of not seeking out comfort during such an event, and so she found herself wandering through the tower looking for Robin's door.

It wasn't that she was lost, she was just more… discombobulated than usual, probably out of fear. It just so happened that Robin's room was on the other side of the fourth floor, and that it took a while to get there.

She jumped and squealed when she heard a low gurgling noise, but calmed down quickly when she found out it was only Silky, squirming around aimlessly on the floor.

"Hello, my little Bumgorf," she whispered, "could you lead me to-,"

She cut herself off as a pair of clawed and vicious looking hands sprung from the shadows hiding the walls, and grabbed the poor silk worm before retreating back into the blackness. Starfire _screamed_.

It wasn't fair, she just wanted to go and see Robin. Beast Boy was just as scared of storms as she was, but his room was _right beside_ Raven's. Why couldn't her room just be beside Robin's? Starfire was slightly shaking now, and she made a split second decision to just run all the way to Robin's room, not even watching where she was going. She took off at a frightening pace, peeking through her fingers every few seconds so she didn't hit anything. She could feel herself getting closer, and closer, and closer, until…

"BAH," and the same grisly hands appeared from nowhere, dragging her towards the wall. She was too stunned to speak, or even operate her starbolts, so she opted to squirm and kick at her assailant. She brought her knee up sharply.

"Ah! Oh, ow. That hurt," said a pajama-clad Beast Boy.

"Oh no! Friend Beast Boy! I'm so very sorry, I did not know it was you. I was frightened, and-,"

"No, it's fine Star," Beast Boy rubbed the bruise forming on his chin, "I didn't even know it was you. Sorry."

"Oh, oh dear. Are you sure? You are O of the K?"

"Yeah, it's cool."

"I am glad…friend Beast Boy, what is it you were doing?" she asked him.

"I was being a Wall Master," he explained. Starfire didn't follow.

"You know, from Zelda. Wall Master."

Starfire shook her head. Just then, there was an enormous crack of lightening, and both of them were jolted into a panic, clinging to each other.

"I believe I am going to Robin's room now," she said, eyes watering slightly. Beast Boy let go of her.

"Uh, okay. You go to see Robin. I'll just…uh…"

"Beast Boy? What are you doing? I thought you hated storms," said a newly appeared Raven, who was also clad in her sleepwear, "come on, you dope. Back to sleep," and she grabbed him by a pointed ear. She turned to look at Starfire, who was still a little bewildered. "You can go to Robin now, I told him you were coming."

Starfire nodded and ran the last few feet to his door before disappearing inside.

"Honestly, Garfield. Why would you do that to Star?"

"I didn't know it was her! Honest!"

Raven mumbled something quietly, drowned out by the noisy rain.

"What was that, Rae?"

"Ceiling Cat. Floor Monster. Wall Master. A _Wall Master_ of all things."

"Yeah, well…"

"How about next time, we try a Redead," she suggested.

"No thanks, I'm good. Really."

And with a chant and a wisp of dark energy, they were gone.

---

**Silence is golden…**

Robin has no idea what to make of the situation he's just been presented with. He thinks he ought to do something about it, but he's really baffled at how what he was seeing now came to be. His mask squints carefully as he studies the predicament, wanting to move but not. Stuck to the TV in the common room with at least two rolls of duct tape was a very unhappy and less than fortunate Gizmo.

"Ya just gonna stare at me all day, barf-for-brains?" he sneered.

Robin acted as if he had said nothing, and then burst out laughing. He almost had trouble standing up, and had to lean back on the arm of the couch. Raven was suddenly beside him, apparently just as clueless as he was about the fact that one of their nemesis' was currently taped to the tube.

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I'm just gonna…get rid of that," she said.

Gizmo began shouting all sorts of colorful profanities as he was phased through both the tape, and the window to Raven's right. She closed her fist, and he dropped swiftly to the sandy bay below. Raven and Robin looked at each other, still befuddled.

"Aw _man_," stressed Cyborg, who had just joined them in the common room, " he got away!"

"Actually, I just through him out the window."

"Dude, not cool," said Beast Boy, who had evidently been riding on Cyborg's back.

"How is that not cool?" Robin asked, still perplexed.

Beast Boy dragged his hand down his face, "That was our science project!"

"Huh?" Raven began, "and what sort of project would that be?"

Cyborg was just as upset as Beast Boy. "We haven't figured that part out yet."

Raven looked from Beast Boy to Cyborg before saying, "Sounds cool."

"But now we're going to need someone else," Beast Boy said, giving her a sneaky look.

"That we are, BB," said Cyborg, advancing towards Raven.

Her eyes widened in realization, and she tried to back up, only to walk directly into Robin.

"Hey Raven," he said, "remember that time you sent me Christmas shopping with Starfire?"

'Well', thought Raven, 'one thing was sure. Heads were going to _roll.'_

---

**What are you doing, '_____'**

"Beast Boy, what are you doing on the ceiling?"

"Beast Boy, what are you doing with four cell phones?"

"Beast Boy, what are you doing with that watermelon?"

"Beast Boy, what are you doing with your toothbrush?"

"Brushing my goddamn teeth," he'd growled.

It bothered him to no end that those four dreaded words were almost always the first four to come out of someone's mouth when addressing him. Why was it so important to know what he was doing all the time? He wasn't always up to no good, it just _looked_ that way. Most of the time. All of the time. Okay, so maybe the others had a reason to be worried about his daily doings, but they didn't have to be so rude about it. He wasn't doing anything, he was just going about his day like any self respecting superhero, and he obviously felt that he needn't be questioned on it. Would it really kill someone to just say something _else_ besides those four stupid words? '_Well,'_ he though to himself, _'at least Raven's is kinda better.'_

"Garfield _Mark_ Logan, what the hell are you doing under my bed!?"

---

**Reminder**

"So Raven," Cyborg began, "why do you sleep with a stuffed rabbit under your pillow?"

"I don't."

"That's not what BB said."

"Well, that's what I said."

Cyborg was probably going to get nowhere fast, but he wasn't about to give up so easily.

"C'mon Rae, just tell me. I won't laugh. I promise."

"If you do laugh, it would be in bad taste. Are you sure you won't?"

"Absolutely."

There was a moment of silence as Cyborg waited for her to begin what he guessed was a long explanation filled with slander and lies, ultimately covering up some kind of darker, funnier secret that he'd giggle at in his head.

"My father gave it to me."

Cyborg did not giggle.

"Your _father?_ Like your _Trigon_ father?"

"Well, I doubt I have two fathers, however exciting that would be. Yes, it was Trigon."

Cyborg looked confused. "Last time I checked, that dude was a fifty foot tall demon with four eyes and the ugliest face I've ever seen. You're saying he gave you a little stuffed rabbit?"

"When he was in a less… gigantic form, yes. Right after I was born. He left it burning on our doorstep in Azarath, probably as a warning that he was coming to destroy my world. Which he did," she explained quietly.

"And you kept it? For all these years? I don't get why you'd keep that thing."

"Cyborg, let me explain something very simple to you," she started, "Trigon was a very terrible and evil demon, one who wanted nothing but the destruction of all worlds, and the power to rule over the darkest of hells. But… even though he destroyed my dimension… and tried to end this world… he was still my father."

At that moment, Cyborg realizes that it is important for their family to stick together. They weren't a real family, but it was better than any they'd ever had. It was crucial that they trust and love each other, just as if they still had their own families. It was important because it was all they had.

But still, Cyborg couldn't shake the bit of doubt in the back his head, the fact that somehow, someway, against all odds, a tiny little part of Raven still loved her father.

---

**I don't like the tape one, at all. I wish I hadn't written it. **

**Anyway, Wall Masters always **_**always**_** scare the crap out of me, even if I know they're there. I can hardly do the Spirit temple, never mind the Shadow Temple. Normally I hate referring specifically to things like books and games, but I figure most of the world knows enough about Zelda anyway.**

**The What are you doing thing is only from my head, because I seem to always write that when someone encounters Beast Boy doing something.**

**And yeah… I do think Raven still loves her father, if only for the reason he is the only one she's had. Only a little bit, though. Please do review.**

**Until next time, **

**Feathers**


	6. The Demon and the Beast

**I don't own these dudes.**

**Note: I won't be updating this as frequently anymore, because I'm going to be starting on my first ongoing multi-chapter fic, Teen Titans of course. I'll update periodically when I need a break from my new fic, just don't expect me to write this religiously. I hope you'll read my new story when I put it up, and I hope you continue to read this one.**

**On another note, this chapter is entirely Beast Boy/Raven. So if you have something against that, then skip this chapter, you won't be missing anything. Onward!**

---

**Kodak Moments**

On dark and cold nights, when the rain and wind are enemies to the tower, the Titans often split up and do their own thing- whatever it is they do to keep occupied during a storm. More often than not, the power is out as well, dashing all hopes of simply watching a movie together. One night, Starfire decides to find out exactly what it is her friends are doing.

When she open's Raven's door quietly, she isn't surprised to find Beast Boy in there as well. They're sitting up against her headboard, wrapped in a blanket, and pressed closely together. Raven is immersed fully in her newest novel, while the green boy is completely focused on playing his DS. They seem so completely oblivious of each other, and yet are so very close that even Starfire can feel the contentment in the air.

Moments like these, she decides, are best kept between those that experience them, and so she closes the door quietly, and heads down the hallway to find Robin.

---

**When I Grow Up**

"Hey, Raven?" he says as they lie on the roof beneath the stars.

"Hm?"

"What do you want to be when you grow up?"

She turns to look at him for only a moment before staring back up at the night sky. "What sort of question is that?"

"Seriously," he says back to her. "If you could be anything, what would you be?"

"I can't be anything. I'm just myself. Daughter of a demon, all that jazz…"

"That's the wrong answer! You must have something you want to be, something you want to do. Anything at all, even if it doesn't make sense. Like if I said I wanted to be a dinosaur."

She turned back to him and wrinkled her eyebrows. "You _can_ be a dinosaur."

"That's not the point! Just answer me seriously. Just say whatever's on the top of your head," he suggested.

"Why don't you answer your own question first? Then I'll answer."

"Alright, well that's easy for me."

"You sound so sure of yourself. What do you want to be, Beast Boy?"

"I want to be with you," he laughed.

She blushed lightly. "Very corny, but I guess I can let it slip this time."

"So what about you?"

"Same thing you do, I guess."

"You want to be with yourself?"

She punched him in the shoulder, told him he was an idiot, wrapped her fingers tightly around his, and hoped that she wasn't really going to have to wait until she grew up to be with him forever.

---

**Separate**

After they'd gotten together, it wasn't often they were seen apart. Sometimes it was strange to be in a room with Raven when Beast Boy wasn't there, and it was really awkward to be walking down the street with Beast Boy and not have the feeling of an empath reading your every emotion. They would come in for breakfast at the same time, they'd go out for lunch together, look after each other during missions, and they'd even make dinner together if it was either of their turns. Well, _Beast Boy_ made dinner, Raven just tried to keep out of the way and not burn absolutely everything.

Imagine their surprise when, one cheerful spring morning, Raven walked into the common room to eat breakfast by herself. Beast Boy was nowhere to be found.

"Mornin' Rae," began Cyborg. "Where's your shadow?"

"My what now?"

Robin looked amused. "You know, Beast Boy?"

"Oh, he'll be by himself in his room for a few days."

"Huh?" Cyborg, Starfire, and Robin all chorused. It was strange enough to see her on her own in the morning, but Beast Boy staying in his own room? This was getting a little weird.

Raven continued on about her business, making her tea and putting a piece of bread in the toaster. She sat down across from Robin and stole his morning paper before immersing herself in it's fine print.

Robin broke the silence. "So…are you going to tell us why?"

"Yes, friend Raven, do tell us. You and friend Beast Boy are usually the 'joined at the hip', are you not?" Starfire added.

"Sometimes literally," quipped Cyborg. He earned a glare and a snarl from the dark girl.

"Does it bother you that I'm by myself for once? Is it really that important that we do everything together?"

"Nah, Rae, it's just…a bit strange. You gonna tell us why he's in his room?" Cyborg asked.

"He's an animal," said Raven, stoic as ever.

"Well, yeah. But we already-,"

"It's spring."

"…and?"

"You know what, Cyborg? If you want me to go be with him so badly, then I will. It's not a problem for me. You, however, will most certainly end up being the one changing any diapers if it comes to that." And with that, she got up and left just as swiftly as she'd come in.

Slowly but surely, realization dawned upon them.

Cyborg looked ready to faint. "Duuuuuuude."

---

**The Natural Order**

Sometimes Robin thinks he can truly see the love between them, a hard thing to catch amongst the insults and the witty banter. It shows itself the most when they're sitting in the quiet, just being together and doing nothing in particular. It's the same way with him and Starfire, they don't really have to be doing anything _together_ to enjoy each other's company.

But Robin can't help but be a little weirded out when he rounds the couch to find them cuddling. Or rather, Beast Boy is cuddling, and Raven is sitting there looking cross, but happy all the same. It's just so strange to see them together being actually _together_ without something terrible or mood-wrecking happening. It's almost unnatural. Maybe-

"Hey Raven, what do you get when you cross a paperclip and an aardvark?"

Ah, much better.

---

**What a Shame**

"I'm sorry man, but sometimes things…just aren't meant to last," Cyborg tells him. He knows it's supposed to comfort him, but he can't help but feel like it's just another thing that's come along to put him down.

"I know," he says to his friend.

He tugs on his sleeve and wipes away his tears, struggling to not burst into the sobs he'd been trapped in before. There's just so much to think about now, and he's really not sure if he's going to be able to cope this time. It all just keeps running through his head, and he wants desperately for everything to vanish and go away, and then he'll wake up to her face again like he used to, and he won't spend his nights beating himself up over what's happened and what should have happened.

It isn't the first time it's happened to him, and that's what bothers him the most. He can't remember a time when he hasn't been in the same kind of turmoil he's in now, and he's not sure he's ever going to get out of it. His friends are here, but they aren't helping. If anything, they're making it worse, and he almost doesn't want to make it better. All of these people he knows, all of the ones he's ever been close to…

As he looks at her grave with sad and dull eyes, he can't help but tell himself what a shame it must be to fall in love with someone like him.

---

**Pancakes**

"Garfield _Mark_ Logan, what the hell are you doing with a bag of flour!?" she yells at him in her usual 'Raven is angry' tone.

His answer comes as a surprise. "Teaching you how to make pancakes," he tells her.

"Oh, ah, okay," Raven replied, unsure of herself. She hoists herself up from her armchair and heads for the kitchen, where Beast Boy is already setting up mixing bowls and measuring cups. She stood beside him while he reached into the higher up cupboards, not being able to see what he's grabbing for. Raven decided she wasn't just going to stand around being not useful, and so reached down the mixer for him.

"Thanks," he said to her, but she can see that he's less than pleased that she can reach things.

"Why exactly are you choosing this very moment to teach me how to make pancakes?"

"Because I'm bored as hell and you suck at making them." He doesn't miss a beat.

"Fair enough."

And so Beast Boy sets about the task of teaching Raven how to make pancakes so as they are not totally black on the outside, and raw and doughy on the inside. The last time she'd tried to make pancakes, the inside had somehow leaked out and gotten all over the couch in the common room, which, considering the location of the kitchen as opposed to the location of the couch, made absolutely no logical sense whatsoever.

Eventually, Raven had given up in frustration after the third batch had failed to come out even somewhat edible. The screen on the microwave cracked as she threw her measuring cup across the room in a very non-Raven manner, the same kind of manner she had when things generally did not go her way, which wasn't often. That was what got to her so much about baking and cooking, it never went her way. Things always turned out the way she wanted to. If Raven wanted a cheese pizza, she got one. If she wanted to lock herself in her room for days at a time, no questions were asked. If she says she's going to tear your head off, then she's going to do it because she effing well wants to. It wasn't a possibility, it was a fact, and Raven is very picky about what is fact and what is not.

"Let's try again," Beast Boy offers. He's suddenly given a looked of pure unwillingness from the girl, and he wonders if he maybe shouldn't have said that last part.

"_No_." And she sat sternly on the swivel stool on the other side of the island table.

"C'mon, Rae. It's not that bad. Think of it as a life lesson."

"What kind of a lesson is this supposed to be?" she jabs.

"Things aren't always going to go your way."

"But they always do," she insisted.

"Not true. If I'd ever actually left you alone, do you think we'd be where we are now?"

That was true. If things had always gone her way, he'd have stopped speaking to her long ago. She'd never have found a person who's willing to really listen to her, someone who'll always be on her side, someone to teach her how to not suck at making pancakes.

Come to think of it, if things had always gone her way, she'd be very much alone right now. And that was the last thing she wanted.

"Okay, one more try…"

And one day, she knows she's going to make the perfect pancake, and when she does, she's going to damn well _enjoy_ it.

---

**How Not to React**

The room has suddenly become stunned, everyone staring wide eyed with jaws nearly reaching the floor. It wasn't often any of the Titans were surprised about anything nowadays, and it was hard to come by something that could produce such a reaction among them, and all at the same time, no less. Raven wondered absently to herself if it had been such a good idea to tell them like this. It had been one of those 'screw this to hell, I'm doing it right now' moments. She just hadn't imagined it playing out quite like this.

A green had intertwines with hers, reassuring what she's just said. It couldn't be that surprising, could it? If anything, they should be surprised it hadn't happened sooner. Raven is surprised at herself because she's acting so passive, so neutral about the whole situation.

Kid Flash peers over the back of the couch, and then, very quickly, the little color she has in her face drains along with the comment she hears next:

"So does this mean she's going to have puppies?"

---

**Another one wrapped up with a bow for you guys. Yeah, the second one is corny, so sue me. Even Raven notices. The 'Spring fever' thing has been done to death, and it's mostly been Beast Boy trying to avoid the girls because of it. I much prefer the idea of Raven not caring much, and hanging around him anyway…doing…things.**

**And for those of you who don't know, I love sad endings much more than happy beginnings. Yes, Raven dies and Beast Boy angsts. I can imagine ending a long story like that, just to piss you all off.**

**Pancakes was fun for me, because I can see Raven having a 'holier than thou' attitude towards all living and non-living objects, and she'd probably get pretty ticked if she couldn't do something she wants to do. And yeah, that's me, too much of a pansy to drop an actual F-bomb.**

**Until next time,**

**Feathers**


	7. The Big One

Well, I really wish I owned the Titans… but life just bums you out some times, you know?

**Yeah, I'm not dead, I promise. It just gets really busy this time of year, with school and the holidays and whatever. I've also been working on my first ongoing fic, so you should see some of that soon. Here's a little treat for waiting so long, a 'just-for-fun-fiction'. And man, this was fun to write.**

**---**

**Interviews**

There comes a time once every six months when the Titans engage in individual and private interviews with the excitable media. It's more of a precaution- having cameras and tape recorders being snuck into the tower via mail, groceries, and once a small video camera hidden in Robin's hair gel can get very old very quickly. It's never really bothered them, but Robin decided that maybe it bothers the citizens of Jump when they've heard next to nothing about the ones they leave their lives with.

And so, they would all head down to the City Hall, where they would meet with the mayor and proceed with their interviews accordingly. The interviewers usually consisted of high strung, over the top fans who believed it was their duty to squeeze every last drop of information from whichever Titan it was they were speaking with. There was, however, a silent agreement among the young reporters, that if you ended up with Raven, it was best just not to say anything at all. Some of the newer adventurers into the field were lacking that one crucial fact.

"You have one hour, then we're done," Robin said as they split up. One hour was certainly _more_ than enough.

---

"So, Robin, how are you doing?" a rather bored looking woman asked him, sounding totally out of it.

"I'm fine. How…are you?" He offered.

"How often do you do this again? I could have sworn I was the one asking the questions," she rebut led.

"Yeah, sorry. I mean, usually it's me doing the questioning. This is sort of weird."

"Yes, okay, that's great, moving on…"

---

"So, uh, Beast Boy is it?"

Beast Boy's interviewer was obviously new to the trade. He was already chewing profusely on the end of his pencil, and Beast Boy could almost smell him being nervous. He came to the quick realization that he could probably say whatever he wanted and get away with it, but decided offhandedly that it probably wasn't a good idea. He leaned back in his chair and propped his feet on the low table in front of him.

"That'd be me, dude."

---

"Here's Raven! And how are you today young miss? Excited for the interview?"

The over zealous man received nothing but a cold stare from the cloaked figure sitting in the chair. He could only just make out her eyes, which were looking him up and down, presumably to evaluate the situation. He was plump, balding, and had a perma-smile. This was going to be unbelievably exhausting.

Her gaze returned to it's former state, solid, and rather creepy.

"You don't look like you know who I am," she said. "Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

"Of course I do m'dear! I've just got a few questions to ask you, but I'm sure you already know that, right? So where should we start? Your powers? What you think of the other Titans? _Your love life?_" he was offering suggestions as if they were some kind of small platter sausage. And Raven wasn't ready to bite.

"You and I are going to have a lovely time."

---

"So, you're the famous Starfire?" the young girl asked.

"Why yes, I am! What questions do you wish to ask me?"

"Uh, lets start with how you're feeling. Are you doing good? Like interviews?" she tapped her pencil on her clipboard.

"I am feeling most excited. I enjoy the interviewing very much so. May I ask your name?"

"Carrol. My name is Carrol."

"Oh, friend Carrol, you and I shall have a wonderful time!"

---

"So, Cyborg…what's going down with you right now?" the man jumped right into the interview like it was nobody's business.

"I'm doin' cool. A bit tired, just spent all morning fixing the fridge," Cyborg answered smoothly.

"Oh? What happened to your fridge?"

"Beast Boy."

"Well then, we might as well start with what you think of the other Titans. Sound good?"

"Go for it, man. It's your interview."

---

"So how are things in the tower? Any disagreements? Fights?"

"Not really," began Robin. "I mean, we fight like your typical roommates. We can't always get along, you know?"

"I see. How do you feel about your current living arrangements?"

"You mean like living on an island?" Robin asked.

"As a whole, how do you feel about where you live?" she clarified.

"Well, it's pretty good. I have a good view of the city, so I always know what's going on. I like living with my friends, and we all know how to let each other have privacy and stuff like that. Sometimes some of us can get a little intrusive, but it's not really a problem. Sometimes we wish we could call in orders for pizza."

"I notice you're saying we. Unless I'm mistaken, this is about _you_," she stated.

"I'm just used to being the voice of the team. You know, the leader and all that."

"So you enjoy having them listen to you?"

"What? I don't order them around, if that's what you're thinking. They back me up. We watch out for each other."

The girl nodded and wrote something down on her notepad. Robin wondered what exactly it was she was writing down, and how much of it was actually true.

"The public would like to know, Robin, what exactly is your connection to Starfire?"

Robin clutched the back of his neck. "Well, uh, we're sort of…"

---

"So, ah, you look like you've done this before," he stuttered.

"Sure, dude. Twice a year."

"Okay, well, so then… I guess I'll ask you a few things. Is that okay?"

Beast Boy nodded. "That's sort of what I'm here for."

"Yes, of course. Um, so, what position do you feel you belong in on the team?" he questioned.

"I think I'm somewhere between the happy outgoing guy and the dumb green."

"Dumb green?"

"I'm really a blondie."

"Ah."

The man began scratching away on his paper, clearly pressing hard enough to rip through the page. He was really worked up about this, wasn't he?

"Okay, so, Beast Boy… what's your favorite animal to turn into?" it was a pointless question. Beast Boy guessed they had to ask whatever the public wanted to know.

"I guess a cat. Boring, I know, but it's fun. I'm not allowed to have catnip, though."

"And why is that?"

"Have you ever done drugs? Got high off somethin'? It's not really the best thing to compare it to, but I think it gets the point across." He said.

"Yeah, I get it. Have you ever been jealous of Robin?"

"…it doesn't make any sense that you should ask me that question right after that last one. Do these have any sort of order?"

"Um, not really. I just have this list of questions. Does that matter to you?"

"I became a little OCD when Raven once cleaned my room and discovered that I have a floor."

"Okay…"

---

"So, Raven, what are your favorite things to do?"

"I don't have favorites."

"Hmm, is that so? You have to have something you enjoy doing. Do you play any sports?" he persisted.

"I meditate. I read. I drink my tea," she stated.

He scribbled it down. "Good, good. How is your interaction with the other Titans? Do you do any activities with others?"

"…What exactly do you mean by 'activities'?" her voice was one of question.

"Anything at all. Chess, hockey, soccer, board games, whatever. Anything."

"I think it was already made clear that I don't play sports."

"That's fine. Now would you answer my question?"

This man didn't seem to have an ounce of intelligence, or else he would never be saying what he was saying.

"I do things with others sometimes."

The pencil hit the paper. "Do go on?"

"No. Next question."

"Hm. You don't get out much do you? Oh well, that's okay. How do you feel about Robin's relationship with Starfire?" he asked slyly.

"I'm indifferent on the matter. It doesn't concern me."

"You aren't jealous?"

"No."

"I thought you'd go for the leader type."

"I don't really want any sort of relationship with Robin outside of what we have now. We're friends."

"What sort of friends?" he raised an eyebrow.

Raven raised hers back. "You are a very personal man, aren't you?"

---

"So how are you and Robin doing?"

"We are doing splendid! Boyfriend Robin and I are proceeding very well with our relationship, and I could not be any happier," Starfire clasped her hands together.

"Why, just the other day, Robin was saying how we should one day take a trip to the mall of shopping. He says there is a most wonderful theater of movies there, and we must watch a movie on the larger screens as it is more exciting than watching on the one at home. Our television at home is also very large, but most of the time it is Cyborg and Beast Boy who are playing the games, and so I cannot watch any movies. Maybe this is why Robin wishes to take me to the theater of movies. Do you happen to know if they are showing anything on fungus perhaps?"

"Uh…no?"

"That is most unfortunate. I guess Robin and I will just have to choose when we get there, no?"

"Yeah, I guess. Do you mind if we move on? We don't really have that much time," the girl said.

"Oh yes, please do go on. I am finding this most enjoyable!"

"So, what do you think of your team, Starfire?"

"Oh, they are truly wonderful friends, and are a most amazing family to me. I do not understand the jokes that Beast Boy makes most of the time, but I am glad that he finds them funny himself. I enjoy playing the videogames with Beast Boy and Cyborg, it is very fun, and I do not know what I am doing most of the time, but they say that that is what makes it so much fun. Sometimes I like to help Cyborg work on his 'baby', he is very fond of the spending time with his car. I do so enjoy helping him repair it whenever I can, and…"

---

"Robin can be a hot head sometimes, but he's got the best intentions. He could probably kick my butt at everything. B's my best bud, even if he is a bit annoying. He's the only one I've got to play videogames with. I mean, Robin likes to play too, but he's not really good at all. He likes to pretend he is, though. Star's really exciting, even when she doesn't know it. She can't cook at all, but I'd eat anythin' of hers over Raven's black pancakes. Raven's the calm and collected one, she's always sorting out all of our problems and stuff."

"Sounds like you really appreciate them."

"Oh, I do, man. Robin pulled me right outta the streets and onto his team. I still can't thank him enough," Cyborg went on.

"Here we go a bit off topic now, that's fine, right? Just wanna know what's goin' on with you and the ladies."

"I'm flying solo right now, and I'm doin' just fine. I like not having to worry about stuff like that, it really gets to ya in the long run, know what I'm sayin'?"

"I hear you. You know my girlfriend dumped me for a dude who staples the foam on couch frames? I couldn't believe she'd trade a man like me for a guy like that," the interviewer groaned.

"Man, that does suck. That's why I'm not there yet. It gives me tons more time to do important things, like work on my car."

"Oh, that reminds me. Do you know if you could have a look at my car? I have no idea what's wrong with it, but the breaks make this awful screeching sound."

"Sure, man, what kinda car ya got?"

And so Cyborg and his less than shy interviewer delved deep into the world of automobiles. Cyborg was certainly having more luck than poor Robin.

---

"See, Starfire and I…we're like friends. Only better. I mean, we hold hands and stuff," Robin was cherry red.

"She's your girlfriend?"

Robin almost jumped at the accusation. "Uh, yeah. Girlfriend. Mine. Starfire."

The woman sighed. "I guess I'm not going anywhere with that. Moving on. How we do you think your team works together?"

All traces of embarrassment vanished instantly. "We all work together like we were made for each other. That sounded really weird, but it's true. Some of us know each other so well in the field that we have a hard time sparring for practice. If it's possible, I think we're almost too good at what we do."

"Interesting. Do your relationships hinder your performance?"

"I guess not. I mean, I can see how it would be a problem for some of us."

"Which of 'us' would that be?"

"I think that's the sort of thing that should stay private. I thought you said this was about me?" Robin countered.

"Yeah. Sure. So how often do you promote leisure time? Or do you spend your hours training the day away?"

"I think I'm pretty fair with the training hours. I always give everyone time to themselves, some more than others. Sometimes we all just go out for the day, like to the fair or something. We're really like your everyday school kids, we have homework and free time just like everyone else."

"Which brings me to my next question. What sort of formal education do you have?"

"Uh, well, you could say I was home schooled…"

---

" So you have a messy room? Are you usually a messy person?"

"I'm not really messy, I just keep my things everywhere. I know where stuff is, so it's not really a problem."

"Okay then…" he fidgeted quietly with his pencil. How hard was it to read something already on paper?

"This is sort of an awkward question. Have you ever had a girlfriend?" he caught himself almost stuttering.

"Yup."

"Oh, well, that was easy. Um, so, did you guys work out?"

"Nope."

"You seem to be fine with these sorts of questions. So are you still single?"

"Nope."

"Could you…elaborate?"

Beast Boy scratched his leg absent mindedly. "You have to be more specific, dude. I can't process so much all at once"

The man looked like he had no idea where to start. " How many girlfriends have you had?"

"Two."

"Were they both supers? Did your green… condition make anything awkward?"

"Yeah, they both have powers. One of them had. My color has nothing to do with anything. Are you racist?"

"Ah! Uh, no, I'm not. It's just a question your fans want the answer to, nothing is personal. And what do you mean by had?"

"I'd rather not talk about it," Beast Boy closed that door swiftly.

"Do you want to tell me about your current girlfriend?"

"You mean you haven't heard? Dude, I thought everyone knew already. She's the best. I mean, maybe she's a bit touchy with…everything, but she's really amazing. You've met her, I know you have."

"I've met her? Are you sure? Could you give me a name? Unless you don't want to let that bit out or anything…"

"It's Raven."

Silence.

"We're thinking of the same Raven, right?"

"Yeah, dude."

---

"So, Raven, if you aren't 'friends' with Robin, then who are you with right now? Don't give me one of those mysterious answers- the world wants to know!" his question was accompanied by various excited hand gestures.

"I have a boy. He's a friend."

"Oh, I see. Gotta keep it all hush hush now, do we? Anyone I know?"

"Maybe."

"I take it you aren't giving me a name yet. How would you describe him?"

Raven looked thoughtful for a silent moment. "…a dangerous stupid."

"That's… surprising. I thought you'd go for the more intelligent type of guy. A romantic, if you will."

"You also thought I'd go for the leader type, which I so clearly do not."

"Okay. That's cool. Don't tell me who it is. Maybe I'll just write to your thousands of male fans and tell them that you're single. Maybe I'll give them your mailing address. How about it?"

"You're a brave, brave man. I think I'll tell him that little tidbit you just threw at me, we'll see if you last the night."

He moved his eyes back and forth. "So maybe I won't then. Look, you obviously don't want to be here."

"Gee, what gave me away," Raven said in her usual monotonous voice.

"What do you honestly think about people like me anyway?"

"You are all obnoxious asses with dubious and unkind intentions, which you so graciously implement to exploit our honest and justified efforts."

The man looked taken aback, he had never expected this when he had signed up for the job.

"Furthermore, I can't even understand the public's mass interest in our personal lives. Why does it matter that I am with someone? Does it put them to sleep at night, being able to know these sorts of things? Or is it some kind of sick pleasure, to intrude on other people's business like this? You know what? To hell with this, I'm going to tell you _everything, _and you're going to sit here and listen. Capeche?"

The man nodded.

He _nodded._

---

"And once Silkie tried to eat a ball of the dryer lint, but luckily friend Beast Boy was there to stop him. Silkie received a very prompt scolding, and was told never to do such a thing again. I have been considering getting him the muzzle or the collar of shock, but Beast Boy will not allow me to. He has told me that it is cruel to animals and, um, whatever Silkie is. I guess I really do see what he is saying, I cannot imagine my little bumgorf would be too enamored with such crude objects."

Carrol rubbed her eyes. "Um, okay, that was nice, but it doesn't really tell me anything about your eating habits. Do you think you could actually…answer the question?"

Starfire beamed happily, unaware of any stress she was causing. "Why of course, friend Carrol. Where shall I begin? The mustard filled puffs of the cream? Or the pizza with the frosting of mints?"

"You know what? Let's just skip this question. So, Starfire, what can you tell me about the romantic tension going on at the Tower?"

"I do not understand, how is it possible for the romance to experience tension?"

"Just tell me about everyone else's feelings," Carrol summarized. This was becoming way too tedious, and was definitely never going to be worth it unless she could squeeze something _juicy_.

Starfire's grin turned to a frown in less than half a second. "I do not believe it is right to tell you of such things. Those are private matters, and I shall not engage in conversation about them. Please ask the next question."

"You know what? Just tell me about your…whatever it is some more."

"Oh yes, I shall! Just yesterday I caught Silkie rolled up in the bathroom floor mat, I believe he was trying to become the tortilla."

---

Cyborg had spent nearly his entire interview talking about cars. The questioning had been completely forgotten in favor of talk about new tires and the time he once installed a rocket launcher in the hood of the T-car, but then had to remove it because it fired by accident once, and Beast Boy became pinned to the wall of the garage. He told a lot of stories about how his car had been stolen, destroyed, and painted tie-dye. There was even the time Raven had dismantled the T-car piece by piece, hiding the nuts and bolts in his sandwich bread as revenge for once tossing Beast Boy out the window before she could. She'd hidden the steering wheel behind Beast Boy's dresser, and Cyborg decided to buy a new one instead of risking the green boy's room. It was probably still back there.

"So you're saying I could install flamethrowers on the sides of my car, and if someone tried to break in, they'd just go off? Just like that?"

Cyborg nodded. "Just don't park beside hair care stores and you're fine."

The man looked confused. "Huh? Why not?"

Cyborg wove his fingers together and made himself to look smart. "Hairspray, mousse, hair gel, you name it, heat it up and it explodes. We once lost a whole order of Robin's hair gel, so he was forced to not gel it for a week. Man, it was great. Have you ever seen him with free flowing hair? He could be in commercials."

---

"Oh my God, don't ever do Batman faces ever again," whimpered the interviewer, hands held protectively in front of her face.

"Sorry, he taught them to me for protective reasons. I scare myself sometimes, practicing in the mirror," Robin said quickly. He blushed a little out of nervousness.

"I don't think I can ever look at anyone's face, ever again."

"Yeah, it'll do that."

"I would hate to be an enemy of his. Or a friend. Or to even know him vaguely. Does he look like that when he answers his door? How does the paper boy deliver his papers to him? He must be a very lonely man."

"Batman doesn't get the paper," Robin explained.

"Lovely. I'm going to ask you more questions, and we're going to forget that that ever happened, okay? I never did, and you don't know how to do that, and we never mentioned Batman." Her hands moved wildly, in gestures unfamiliar to Robin.

"Sure," he said.

"Okay, okay. Um. So…could you…teach me how to do the face?"

---

"I once ate an entire cream puff cake with no hands."

"And you feel that is a great accomplishment?" The interviewer had warmed up to Beast Boy considerably. It was like he'd come to realize he was just another kid, with green skin and crazy powers. He was a pretty fun guy.

"Absolutely."

"I see. So how long did it take you? And how did you not like throw up or something?"

"Cyborg timed me at two minutes an forty-two seconds. I honestly felt like curling up in a corner and passing out when I was finished. But it felt good, you know? Like when you squirt pop out your nose."

"I just can't believe you didn't suffer any consequences from eating an entire cream puff cake with no hands."

Beast Boy fidgeted with his gloved fingers. "Well, Raven wouldn't kiss me for a whole two days. It was the worst! She said she didn't like cream puff cake, and she didn't want to have to taste it anywhere for any reason. I was reduced to begging for just a peck on the cheek! And you know what? She wouldn't even do that."

"I still have a hard time believing you two are actually you _two._ She doesn't seem like the type who'd go for a guy like you."

"Hey," Beast Boy argued. "I've had my moments. I once beat up a guy that tried to grope her."

"Really? When?"

"We were at some party hosted by Bruce Wayne. This kid in dopey looking pants tried to put his moves on her, but Super Boyfriend swooped in to save the day and kicked his sorry ass into next Friday. He totally thought he was being all cool too, but he was the stupidest looking kid I've ever seen. I bet he sleeps with socks on."

---

"And so Beast Boy thought this kid was groping me or something, but in reality I was standing very near to a coat rack," Raven explained. "I guess I thought it was kind of cute that he was 'saving' me, but he's got a problem with jumping to conclusions."

The man was feeling very small as he listened to Raven tell him absolutely everything. He now knew things he did not care to know. Private things, terrible things that nobody should ever hear. He was going to quit right away, after they were done.

"Anyway, we once went swimming in the bay outside the Tower, and I had never been swimming before. We have no pools on Azerath, you see. So Starfire offered to teach me how to swim, and I agreed only to stop her whining and groveling. Okay, actually, it was more Beast Boy's whining and groveling, but it's really the same thing.

"So we were out there for a really long time, and then Starfire decided she wanted to go back inside, and I said I would be fine swimming back on my own. So she left, and I tried swimming back myself. I guess I did okay, I did make it all the way back to shore. On the way, I swallowed some water, and Beast Boy, in all his bravery, ran to my rescue and jumped to even more conclusions. He insisted that he saved my life, but I had to explain to him that using tongue during CPR is not going to save anyone, ever.

"Not that I really minded."

Raven paused to glance at the clock. "Looks like we're almost out of time. I can give you two choices. One, we can end this early and I can leave, or two, I can tell you about the time I almost ate Dr. Light's soul."

"You can go," the man said quietly.

"Good, I knew we'd get along in the end."

---

Starfire had talked Carrol into some kind of stupor. She wasn't really moving at all, and appeared to be contentedly listening to Starfire go on and on and on about things that nobody would ever be interested in hearing. It was like she wouldn't shut up, like she didn't even know she was still talking. Maybe it was something she just needed to do to survive, like breathing. Then Carrol realized it was stupid to compare breathing to talking for a ridiculous length of time. See? That's just how absolutely boring and unproductive it was.

"And that is how, with the help of friends Aqualad and Kid Flash, I built the fort of pillows beneath the table in the kitchen."

Could it be? Was she finally done? Had she finally run out of things to talk about?

"Are…are you done?" Carrol prodded.

"I believe the time for questions is up, therefore I cannot answer that," Starfire said stonily as she pointed at the clock. She rose from her chair and walked swiftly out the door, as if she hadn't been in an interview at all. Carrol could not believe it.

She'd sat there for who knows how long, listening to nonsensical babble regarding fungus and that time where Cyborg forgot he built the television remote into his arm, and spent six hours looking for it. Never again would she ever do this, would she ever volunteer for superhero duty. She hadn't really written a thing, and she was sure to get in trouble. She had nothing to squeeze, nothing to twist. It was all so _salty._

Although she did learn how to memorize the entire periodic table of elements. That had to count for something, right?…right?

---

"One day, I'm gonna buy solid gold hubcaps and stick 'em on the T-car."

"Oooh, man, I'm so jealous of you right now."

"I know, right? Who cares if gold clashes with blue, I'm gonna do it," Cyborg stated factually.

"You could start your own 'Pimp my Ride' show, you know that? You could install machine guns in the headlights and stuff. Or maybe make it so that you can pop the trunk without accidentally rolling the windows down at the same time," the man suggested.

"Oh, that's smart, dude. I've always thought those two buttons were too close together…. Aw man, looks like I gotta go. We coo'?"

"Yeah, dude. S'great chattin' with you. Let me know when you buy those hubcaps."

"Sure thing." And Cyborg stood up, cracked his metallic back, and strode out the door with a wave.

---

Robin, Starfire, Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Raven all stood before the mayor in his office. He was collecting the papers from the interviewers, which he failed to notice were mostly blank. With a smile and a wave, he handed them off to one of the staff before approaching the Titans.

"I can't thank you enough for doing this, you know. The people of Jump are always eager to hear about your everyday troubles as your typical teenager. They can really relate themselves," he said cheerily. Robin told him he was welcome to it anytime, and then headed into what would be a brief discussion to plan the next visit.

While the mayor was distracted, Raven edged closer to Beast Boy and murmured in his ear. "Garfield, look at that woman," she pointed at the one who'd interviewed Robin. "What in the name of Azar is she doing with her face?"

Beast Boy peered over Raven's shoulder at the woman, who was trying her absolute best to look stoic, intimidating, and emotionless all that the same time. She looked very much like she'd run directly into a wall and had flattened her face.

"Reminds me of Batman," he murmured back.

They both turned away from the frightening lady, deciding to not question it further. Robin finished up with the mayor, and the jolly man turned to address them once more.

"Thank you again, Titans," he said, and then turned his gaze to the interviewers. "I trust you all had good experiences?"

Robin's said nothing, and remained still. Cyborg's flashed a thumbs up, and Beast Boy's grinned animatedly. Carrol just nodded and said it went fine, but she'd like to go back to interviewing the people at the library. Raven's had his eyes wide open, and was completely alert. He shook a bit before responding.

"Yes. We had a lovely time," he said.

"Nice," Beast Boy whispered to Raven.

Robin decided then to speak up. "Well, it's been real. But we've got to go now. And do superhero things. Yeah." And with that, he turned around and left the building with a wave. The other Titans followed closely behind him, eager to get back home.

"So," he said as they climbed into the T-car, "that went well. Who else thinks that went well?"

Four hands raised instantly.

"Good. Now for the next order of business, to stop them from publishing anything about us. What do you think we should do this time?"

Beast Boy raised his hand again. "We should look up where they live and egg their houses," he suggested eagerly.

Robin looked as though he was considering it. "Hmmm. Why not? Raven, go find us some eggs. Cyborg, look up their addresses." Robin turned around, now sitting in the passenger seat. He adjusted his mask in the side mirror and fixed some loose hairs.

"Let's do this."

---

Ah that was fun. I can see them using blackmail to prevent the press from messing with things, can't you?

Again, this was not really serious at all, just a mush of things. Hope you liked it!

Until next time,

Feathers


	8. Adventure Awaits!

**Authors Note:**

**I don't own anybody, except Gummi.**

**I really want to write a holiday fic, but I don't think I can do it creatively. There's only so much you can write about Christmas. Maybe I'll do one today and post it as a separate work. Yeah. Maybe.**

**So here's another one for you, hopefully still full of my lovely wit and charm. And for those of you who have been leaving reviews, thanks. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Indeed.**

**I apologize in advance for any sappy BBRae-ness that may occur throughout this chapter.**

---

**Musical**

"When did we get a piano?" inquired Robin.

Walking in the door to find a piano in your living room when you were certain you didn't have one was bound to invoke such questioning. Raven stood in front of him, arms crossed and looking as she always did. Bored and uninterested with everything in general.

"If Beast Boy is allowed to have a violin, I see no problem with me owning a piano," she explained.

"Okay, sure. But where did you get this?"

"I'm not broke."

"It takes up a lot of space."

"Yes, it does," she said.

And that was that. Raven had a piano.

From what the other Titans could tell, Raven never even played it. They didn't even know if she could play the piano. Maybe she was one of those people who just wanted it for decoration, one of those people who put it in their foyers to make the place look sophisticated. Then they decided that no, that was stupid, and Raven would never have a reason that stupid for anything, ever.

Sometimes Starfire would lift the cover and test the keys, squealing along with whichever note popped out. She found it marvelous, but Raven often told her not to touch things that didn't belong to her. Starfire had retorted, telling Raven that she never touched it even though it belonged to her, and such a thing did not deserve to go untouched. Raven had simply glared and stormed off, which was not uncommon.

One day, when Robin, Starfire, and Cyborg were supposed to be out on patrol, Cyborg ended up staying home on the count of his missing breakfast. Now, when they left Raven and Beast Boy home alone, they expected them to, well, _do _things. Cyborg certainly hoped they weren't doing anything as he headed for the kitchen eagerly. He mostly didn't want to embarrass Raven. Last time that'd happened, he had spent the next three days in a dimension filled with jellybeans that enjoyed talking about things related to vegans. It had been absolute torture.

Imagine his surprise when he strolled into the kitchen, only to be greeted by a marvelous duet of Raven and Beast Boy, playing the piano and violin respectively. Her fingers danced across the keys like a river, and his hand moved in a blur as he matched Raven note for note. Cyborg had a knack for walking in on people doing musical things.

Neither of them noticed Cyborg standing in the doorway, unmoving and focused completely on the tune wafting through the air. Suddenly, he understood why Raven didn't want Starfire touching her piano. It was one of the few things she shared with Beast Boy that nobody was supposed to know about. He suddenly felt very violating, like he'd heard something terrible that he'd wished he'd never heard.

He turned to leave. This was their moment, and he would be a fool to wreck something so beautiful. One day, they'd step up to face the music, and maybe they'd share it with their friends.

Just maybe.

---

**Meeting the Folks**

"Robin?"

"Yeah Star?"

Starfire stood near the end of the couch on which Robin was currently sitting, immersed in a newspaper imported from Gotham.

"You have met my K'norfka, Galfore, yes?"

Robin nodded. "Yeah, you were there too. Is…there a problem?"

Starfire looked shy, something she often wasn't.

"Well, not exactly. Friend Raven told me of an earthly tradition that is often performed between the couples. I was wondering…"

"You aren't meeting Batman, Starfire. It's nothing personal, he's just too busy." Robin smiled at her. "Maybe we'll visit him for Christmas."

"Oh, that would be most wonderful!" Starfire was instantly glowing, and began to float happily around the side of the couch, coming to sit beside Robin.

"I have a question, though," Robin began. Starfire nodded earnestly. "How did you and Raven end up talking about something like that?"

"Well, I actually heard it from some girls doing the girl talk in the park. I became curious, and so sought out Raven to ask if she had met friend Beast Boy's parents. She said no, and that they were dead."

"Oh, um…"

"It is no matter, Raven does not seem unnerved."

"Oh."

For a while, Robin went back to reading his paper while Starfire bathed in his comforting presence. It wasn't often they were able to sit together in the quite. After a short while, Robin broke the silence.

"You want to know why that's a stupid tradition?"

Starfire looked confused. "Hm?"

"Imagine how much it would suck to be introduced to Trigon."

---

**Confiding**

Starfire and Raven, as the only females in the tower, were often driven to confide the most secretive of secrets to each other simply because they had nobody else to tell. At first, it was little things like when Starfire told Raven she had a crush on Robin, or when Raven admitted that sometimes she only pretended to be reading.

Sometimes it was something a little bigger, like when Raven told Starfire that tofu wasn't so bad. Starfire then proceeded to explain that sometimes she took the R-cycle for joy rides because it felt more exhilarating than flying. Soon they were telling each other very private things, like how Starfire sometimes watches Robin train through the two-way mirror in the gym, or that sometimes Raven lets Beast Boy sleep on her bed as a cat.

Eventually it became a challenge, to admit something even more stupendous than the other. Not soon after, it became a competition. Starfire told Raven that Robin sometimes takes her out to clubs where they spend the night making out, and then afterword he gives her a dozen velvety red roses. Raven chose her comeback wisely, revealing that Beast Boy sometimes writes her music, and she makes up the words and sings to him.

Then it became the 'Who's a better boyfriend' contest.

"Boyfriend Robin gave me the ring of promises, and had my name engraved in Tamaranian on the back."

"Garfield once burped the Azarathian national anthem for me. _In_ Azerathian."

Sometimes hurtful things were said, things they wished they could take back. It just kept growing and growing and turning into something bigger. That is, until they invited Jinx to one of their girl talks.

"You think those guys are so great? Kid Flash once took me to breakfast in Venice, shopping in Paris, tea in England, lunch in Tokyo, snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, surfing in Hawaii, dinner in New York, and to the fireworks on the shores of Vancouver, all in one day."

From then on, it was a mutual decision that Starfire and Raven not try to outdo one another in anything.

It was also a mutual decision that Jinx _never_ be invited to girl talk night, ever again.

---

**Infomercial**

"Oh my God, Robin, that better not be a snuggie."

"Huh?" Robin craned his neck to look at Beast Boy, who was crouching on the arm of the couch.

"Holy shit, it is. Why do you even have one of those? Dude…"

Robin was confused. "Because they're, uh, warm? And convenient. You know I can eat chips _and_ hold a cup? At the same time, no less!"

Beast Boy's palm met his forehead with a resounding 'slap'. "No no no, you totally don't…I mean you can't…ugh."

He leapt off the couch arm, turning into a cat as he hit the ground. He took one last look at Robin before racing off through the hydraulic doors and out of the common room. Starfire, who had been cooking in the kitchen (clad in a pink snuggie, of course) grabbed her bowl filled with questionably edible food and floated over the back of the couch to sit beside Robin.

"Are you ready, friend Robin?"

"Yup!" He put down his cup and picked up the television remote (boy was the snuggie convenient!) and clicked on the DVD player. Tonight was Robin's movie night with Starfire, and they were watching something about a princess. Robin didn't really watch the movie, but he still liked spending time with Starfire.

"Would you like some _flemnars_, Robin?" She offered him a bowl of crunchy looking purple things.

"Um, no Starfire, that's okay. Just watch the movie."

So that's what they did for the next hour and a half. Robin had almost fallen asleep, he was so comfortable. He was glad that Starfire had been watching _World of Fungus_ when the infomercial for the Snuggie had come on. She'd demanded they order one for each of them immediately, and thought they would be brilliant in the case of movie nights. Although, she couldn't find one big enough to fit around Cyborg's mechanical arms, but for some reason he hadn't seemed to bothered by it. Raven and Beast Boy's had failed to show in the mail for undisclosed reasons.

They were interrupted when a green cat jumped on the back of the couch and turned into a pointy eared boy, followed by a grumpy empath.

Beast Boy crossed his arms and looked at her. "See?"

Raven's eyes widened considerably.

"Oh my Azar, Robin, those better not be snuggies."

---

**On our Rocket Ship**

"Duuuude, when are we gonna get to go home?"

Robin sniffed. "As soon as Cyborg pulls over and asks for directions."

"Oh yeah sure, I'll just stop at the next galaxy and ask the locals how to get back to a planet they've never even heard of."

Raven's voice crackled through Cyborg's headset. "How did we even get lost? It isn't that hard to miss an entire planet."

"Uh, my GPS sort of isn't working."

"I see."

"I have to go to the bathroom."

Raven growled a bit. "Shut up Beast Boy."

"Perhaps we could try instead to find Tamaran? I am certain K'norfka Galfore can give us directions back to our planet."

"I don't know where that is either." Cyborg told her.

"So you're one of those people that rely entirely on your GPS to get anywhere? I suppose you'd drive through a river if it meant getting to Mega Meaty Meat."

"Hey, Raven, don't be hatin',"

"I'm not, I'm just pointing out a fact. Beast Boy, when you're able to drive, don't use a GPS."

"I don't think I can fit a GPS onto a moped, Rae."

"My name is Raven."

"Perhaps we could even stop on Hemlack 4, I am certain that the people of the Gamma system would be more than happy to help us."

Robin's voice sounded in Starfire's compartment, "Starfire, we can't get anywhere without the GPS. Do you recognize any planets?"

"No," she shook her head.

"I'm getting bored."

"Shut up, Grass stain."

"I don't think you're the one to be calling the shots, Cyborg. We're lost in space because of you." Raven was a little less than happy with the current situation. There was also no tea in the ship's storage; they were only supposed to be on a quick trip to investigate a suspicious lump that had appeared on Jupiter.

"Look, guys, I'm sure we'll find our way home. You've just gotta bare with me."

"Oh look!" Starfire grinned. "That is the seventh moon of Omicron! But what is it doing…not in Omicron's orbit?"

Robin adjusted his seatbelt. "Is that bad?"

"It could perhaps mean that the people of the planet Zenfarr are stealing moons again, but it could also just be the coincidence."

"That's it, I'm visiting Raven," the shape shifter spoke up.

"Yay," she droned in monotone.

Starfire was busy scanning the darkness for familiar structures, and Robin was digging through his glove compartment trying to find a map of their immediate universe. Cyborg silently cursed himself. How could his GPS have failed? He'd done a complete system check before they left, and everything had been in perfect working order. He had to think of something fast, before Raven did something drastic.

"Hey, Raven," he called.

"We're busy," Beast Boy's voice came through on her frequency. "We're playing cards."

"That's great, but this involves finding our way back home."

"Sweetness," Beast Boy replied. There was the sound of scuffling before Raven's voice broke through. "What is it, Cyborg?"

"Wouldn't it be easier just to encase the T-ship in your darkness thingy and whisk us all back to Earth's atmosphere?"

"I need to know where I currently am for that to work. Even then, transporting something like the T-ship would take more energy then I've got."

"So that's a no then?"

"Your observational abilities astound me."

"Well thanks for helping."

"Cyborg, I didn't get us lost. I can be as helpful as I want," Raven claimed. Beast Boy could be heard snickering in the background.

"Well could you at least give me some ideas?"

"We're busy," Raven said. "We're playing cards."

Cyborg resisted the urge to crush his headset before turning off his access to Raven's frequency. He glanced at Robin's compartment. His feet we're up on the dash and he was reading some sort of magazine about motorcycles.

"Yo, Boy Wonder, you gonna help me?"

"No." He flipped the switch and turned his headset off.

"Aww, c'mon!" He chanced a look at Starfire. She'd fallen asleep.

"Man, this ain't fair!"

He flung his head back and starred at the endless abyss. This was impossible! They had to at least help him if they wanted to get back to Earth. He was probably missing the football game, too. When he looked up, he noticed immediately that the other compartments were empty.

"What the…" He tried to make contact through his headset, but to no avail. "What's goin' on here?"

He searched the floor with his hand until he found his communicator. He flipped it open and pressed the tiny green button.

"Beast Boy's communicator, Raven speaking." Her image flickered on the screen, the contact obviously strained.

"You got three seconds to tell me what's goin' on before I decide to remove the TV from the common room."

The screen went fuzzy as she turned it around to reveal that they we all safe at home in Titans Tower. It then turned back to her, where her face was plastered with an uncaring expression.

"I lied. Have fun with your GPS." And it went black.

Cyborg pursed his lips and made an effort not to cry. He made some split second decisions that he'd probably regret later on.

"When I get back to the tower, I'm removing the TV."

He turned the T-Ship around and put the thrusters on full-throttle.

"And then, I'm goin' to turn Raven's room into a god-damned _movie theater._"

---

**Ooh, that was fun. I wrote the first half before Christmas and the second half about ten minutes ago. **

**Did you know snuggies come in leopard print now? **

**-Feathers**


	9. My Dad the Mind Reader

**A note from your author:**

**Hey dudes, it's been a while. School is busy, yata yata. But I'm still here and I've still got some ideas.**

**New York comic con was a blast and I can now recommend that all you Teen Titans fans out there set up your DVRs and try to catch the premier of Young Justice. I watched about 9 minutes of a trailer at the panel, and it was wonderful. Cyborg's voice is also returning as the voice of the new Aqualad, so at least watch it for the connection…**

**I'm happy to say I've now got a DVD (season 5) signed by Greg Cipes, and a sketch of Beast Boy from the creator of Tiny Titans. How fun is that? It's colored in crayon and everything. Moving on…**

**I've Got You on my Mind**

You're very surprised when you stop by Titans Tower to visit your son, and the girl he's introducing you to isn't the hip young blue eyed blond he'd gone on about last year. Of course, you haven't heard anything since then, so of course the matter is subject to change. Either way, this certainly isn't what you were expecting.

"We started going out like, uh… last year? Last year. I think…"

You adjust yourself on the old and semi-comfortable couch and watch the young woman he is telling you about from the corner of your eye. She is seated in a large plush armchair and seems more focused on the book in her hands than she is on the one-sided conversation. The rest of your son's team is nowhere to be found.

You focus your gaze on Garfield once again and interrupt him as he tries to count the months on his fingers.

"Would you… like to tell me about her?" you ask, as though she isn't even there. She may as well not have been. Before Garfield starts talking again (you can hear the gears clacking in his head as he gets ready to make his speech) you focus on his mind and begin to read his inner thoughts. You wouldn't want him lying to you about this mysterious girl, would you? Relationships are bound to cause problems. You would know.

"Well, um, this is Raven!" he practically shouts and then points his hands in her direction as if he were presenting her. He almost trips over his own feet as he is overcome with enthusiasm. "Raven is from Azarath, in some other dimension or something. Oh yeah, Raven can travel through dimensions and time and space and stuff. And her powers are kinda like the Force! Isn't that awesome? And she can pick up things without picking them up. Raven, show him, pick up your cup," and he pointed to the cup on the table in front of the couch.

"Can't, busy reading."

Those are the first words you hear her utter, and she sounds croaky and uninterested. Not an ounce of emotion as she continues on with her life as if the question had never been asked.

"Raven's got a new book," he says, as if it excuses her from her impoliteness.

"You say she's from another dimension? How… interesting. Did her parents come with her?" you ask, genuine curiosity getting the better of you.

Garfield rubs the back of his neck. "Raven's parents are, uh, kinda dead. Yeah."

But that isn't good enough for you, and you delve into his mind to find the truth. What you learn astonishes you. This girl is the daughter of Trigon the Terrible! And her mother… well, you don't want to think about that. It crosses your mind that you should interrupt the introduction and tell him right now that he is in the wrong, but you decide that you should wait and see where this goes. But you are still doubtful.

"Moving on!" Garfield shouts, " Raven came here from Azarath and helped us catch Starfire. You know all that, right? And she joined the team right at the beginning, so I've known her for a long time. She's not just out of the blue or anything. She can speak a lot of different languages, but I forget which ones, and she doesn't like cooking every much. She likes reading though," and he points to the book in her hands, which only reminds you that she isn't paying much attention.

"And Raven is really cool and really awesome and-,"

"Is that all? Does she… play videogames or anything?" You ask the question because you know it's something your boy likes to do, and maybe there is something they have in common after all.

Garfield looks down and blushes a bit. "No, Raven says TV rots your brains. She also says it's ok if I watch it because I don't have much brains for the rotting."

A page flips.

"But she likes to meditate and play piano. Sometimes we swap iPods. And she has a laptop…"

It's clear to you that he's already running out of things to say, and you don't think you've heard enough about her just yet. It's obvious he's dancing around a few certain topics that he knows might get him in trouble. You decide once more to investigate. What you come across in Garfield's limited knowledge is not quite as surprising as last time, but it still sends you for a spin. Your son- who only had his fifteenth birthday two months ago- is dating a girl who will be twenty in two years. You decide you should bring it up later.

"… she doesn't like sports or going outside or to the beach, and she says that tofu tastes awful when it totally doesn't," and he glares at his girlfriend, and she still does nothing. Just flips the page. But Garfield laughs as if she's said something funny and you're confused.

"So yeah, I guess that's Raven in a nutshell. Unless you want me to get all mushy."

That reminds you. It's time to bring up the bane of all "meet my girlfriend" questions. You aren't expecting much besides possibly hand holding, because even though they've been going out for a year at least, Raven looks like she'd rather break his hand than hold it. In all your life, you've only had room in your heart for one person, and even then you've still kept to yourself. And your son's already had two girlfriends, and maybe more that you don't know about.

"So," you start, "what exactly have you done with Raven? I'm talking physically."

"Aw, Mento! Do ya hafta ask that? Raven's gonna get embarrassed. I mean, that's a little personal…"

"I have an obligation to know. I can't just let you run wild. She can leave if she has to," you say. You aren't embarrassed at all, but Garfield is turning purple.

And then Raven speaks for the second time. "Garfield doesn't have to tell you anything. What happens between he and I is nobody's business."

It's something you'd expect from a demon. Her gaze is lifted from her book and it's hot on your own eyes.

You need to affirm your position as a leader, and as a father. If it's your son, it's your business. But before you can strike back, Garfield is talking again.

"Nah Rae, it's ok. I mean, I guess he should know since I hardly ever see him. And imagine if I said we did nothing but then we showed up on his doorstep all married or somethin'. That's kinda not fair."

Married? This is getting ridiculous. This is already hard enough to believe as it is. Raven says nothing to him, but she does close her book. Her gaze is still sharp.

"Ok, so…" and Garfield takes a deep breath.

"We hold hands and cuddle and stuff, and sometimes we make out or whatever. That good enough?" He says it quickly and bites his lip when he's done.

You can't even begin to imagine that your son "makes out" with this emotionless and potentially dangerous female. It has to be a lie, or at least a hyperbole. You need to find out exactly what they've been up to, so you get ready to dive deeper into his thoughts…

"You can get out of his head now, you know."

You blink in astonishment. Your son's girlfriend just called you out.

Raven crosses her arms and her face sports a firm frown. "I'd think you'd have more respect for your son's privacy. What does it matter what he does? He isn't a complete idiot, you know. A neither am I, for that matter."

You stutter a bit before you can get your words out. "But how did you…"

"I'm empathic," she says, "I can feel you poking around. You aren't exactly quiet."

You feel a little guilt now. She's known the whole time that you've been prodding Garfield's thoughts, and she's probably not happy about it. You look at Garfield, and you can tell instantly that he is upset. The invasion of his mental privacy is nothing new. After all, that's how you caught him pulling pranks when he was younger. But he looks a lot more upset than he usually would.

"Why would you… I mean, why can't ya just take my word for it? It's not like you know much about relationships anyway…"

The comment stings, but he is right. You don't know. You don't know at all. So maybe you were trying to understand.

"Garfield…" Raven says. She sounds worried now, and it's the first emotion you've seen from her all afternoon. A second later, you know why she is concerned. Garfield's personality has always been erratic, and it doesn't take long for him to switch from upset to angry. The scowl on his face doesn't belong.

"Why can't you just mind your own business?" he says to you. "You've always done that to me! I thought you could at least appreciate that I've found an amazing girlfriend who actually loves me."

Loves him?

"You never say you love me! You never have! You just pretend you're my dad because you just want something else besides nothing. If you're going to play daddy, at least act like one and stop trying to pry into everything about me!"

You don't know how to handle his outburst or his sour expression. It's always been like this between you and him ever since he joined the Titans. But you see quickly that Raven knows what to do.

"Gar, you have to calm down. I know you didn't want this to turn into a fight, so just let it go." She says.

So he was expecting things to blow up?

"No Raven, I invited him here to meet you, and instead he's acting like I'm still a little kid that he has to watch twenty four seven. He feels like he has a right to know everything about me, and I wouldn't mind telling him stuff if he would just ask me. But he just barges into my head and goes nuts! You don't have to see everything, okay? I'm fine on my own…"

By the time he is done yelling he is whimpering a little, and you've been put off a bit because now you know what he thinks of you. He doesn't love you. Nobody does. Raven doesn't move.

"I'm… sorry," you offer. "But you have to understand that I'm only trying to keep you safe. I just don't want you getting in trouble."

"Keeping me safe?" Garfield asks. "You can send me off to fight the Brotherhood when I'm ten, but you can't leave me alone with my own girlfriend?"

He has a point.

"I just… don't want anything bad to happen to you. Or her," you add.

Garfield turns to look at Raven, and he looks a little less unnerved than before.

"I know, I know. But… just ask me, okay? That's all you have to do. I know you don't trust Raven, but I know her."

And you realize that he knows her a whole lot better than you do. They've been living together for years, after all. You curse yourself because you always manage to make a mess of things with your family. Your voice is small when you speak up again.

"I just… want to make sure you're okay, Garfield. You're just growing up so fast."

And when you look up, your son is looking sympathetic instead of angry. Raven is sitting back in her chair once again.

Garfield starts blushing out of nowhere and his hands come together and clasp themselves in his lap. "I guess I do sort of leave out the important bits sometimes. Like… that Raven's dad is Big Red and Ugly, and that she's kinda sorta like almost nineteen, and that maybe we slept together a few times, but-,"

"What?" you shout.

Garfield quickly waves his hands rapidly in front of his face. "Nothing, nothing! I didn't say anything!"

Your suspicions are confirmed when you see that Raven is red as a tomato. But this time… you don't say anything, and you pretend you heard nothing. And you leave his mind alone. Maybe it's time for a change of pace.

"Alright, son. I could have sworn I just heard you say something completely ridiculous. But you know, I'm getting old and my hearing is going…" and you tack on a tiny, tiny smile.

Garfield beams at you. "Yeah, haha, okay! Yeah, I'm totally fine. I can take care of myself. After all, I've got super girlfriend here to make sure I don't do anything stupid." And when he looks at Raven again, you can see the adoration and love in his gaze, and you kick yourself for not seeing it before. You remember looking at Rita like that when you were young.

Raven is back to her pale self, and as Garfield looks at her, you watch her smile for the first time. It's a nice smile, you decide. She probably doesn't do it often. Before you know it, she's erupted in a brilliant cloud of darkness and has reappeared next to Garfield on the other end of the couch. In an obvious display of affection, she throws her arm around his waist and pulls him closer.

It finally dawns on you that you should have been happy for him from the start. You're just too used to making assumptions and dealing with your own problems that you can't see through the mist. So you toss everything that's been said aside and smile a real smile.

"I'm happy for you, son. I really am."

And Garfield's smile grows even wider, if that was even possible, and he gives a happy little chuckle. And for once in your life, you feel like you've done something right. And then you watch in astonishment as the girl you thought was dull and emotionless leans over and kisses your son softly on the mouth, and then pecks him again as soon as they've finished the first one. It makes you happy.

You decide you should leave while everything is working out, and you gesture to them your intentions. Both of them nod, and Garfield mouths a 'thank you' as you get up. You walk quickly because you can't break the habit of your profession, but you take one more look before the couch is out of your range. Raven is already leaning back in for another kiss, and Garfield eagerly meets her halfway.

He's done well for himself, you think as you leave the tower.

You don't remember why you were so worried.

You decide it feels good to be happy again.

**This one makes me feel happy. Let me know if I messed up any tenses or anything, I've never written like this before. I hope you enjoyed it.**

**-Feathers**


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